Mitigating methane emissions from municipal solid waste in Chinese cities

China's swift urbanization poses a significant methane (CH₄) emission challenge from municipal solid waste (MSW), which may hinder China's net-zero CH₄ target. This study pioneers a city-level inventory of MSW-CH₄ emissions in China from 2006 to 2023, identifying key drivers behind emission changes. Remarkably, a 84.7 % reduction in MSW-CH₄ emissions has been achieved in Chinese cities since 2017, with megacities and large cities accounting for 80 % of these gains. The shift from landfill to incineration and the recovery of methane gas are the main drivers of MSW-CH₄ emission reductions in most Chinese cities, especially the larger ones. Scenario analysis indicates that under a no-landfill, anaerobic digestion-focused strategy, all megacities and large cities can achieve negative or near-zero emissions by 2060, but small cities and microcities still need more incineration capacity. Our findings suggest tailored waste management policies for different types of cities are essential to realize China's net-zero MSW-CH₄ goal.