<p>Waste management and Climate Change have become concomitant challenges in many developing countries. This paper analysed the moderating role of public education on the relationship between household waste management practices and climate change severity in the Kumasi Metropolis. Based on a cross-sectional research study, multiple sampling techniques were used on 1989 households. The descriptive statistics, correlation, and structural equation modelling (SEM) were used to analyse the data. The findings indicated that separation of waste had a significant impact on climate change severity (separation of waste, 0.321, p &lt; 0.001) and waste reduction (reduction of waste, 0.284, p &lt; 0.01) as well. Storage, disposal, and reuse had a minor direct effect. Separation (β = − 0.214, p &lt; 0.05), storage (β = − 0.198, p &lt; 0.05), and reduction (β = − 0.201, p &lt; 0.05) were significantly negated by public education, thereby enhancing their potential to prevent climate change severity. The study proposes prioritising reduction and separation of solid waste, along with continuous public education to ensure reduction of greenhouse gases in urban areas. There is a further need to incorporate waste management practices in the Metropolitan climate action plans.</p>