As a result of energy-related anthropogenic emissions to the atmosphere, greenhouse gases (GHG) like CO(2)observed to be the most abundant continue to accumulate in the atmosphere at an alarming rate, with concomitant rise in its environmental impact; and hence, spurring research in technologies to mitigate climate change. This comprehensive review provides the state-of-the-art of CO(2)capture using adsorbents prepared from various waste materials, which are categorized on the basis of their generation processes such as pyrolysis, combustion, smelting, and petroleum-related upgrading. These include biomass waste, sludge, polymer wastes, by-product of fuel and waste combustion processes such as fly ash and other biomass-based ashes, and byproducts of smelting and petroleum processes such as red mud, steel and iron slag, carbide slag, and petroleum and coal residues. In general, biomass waste derived adsorbents (up to 21 mmol/g and 3900 m(2)/g), and petroleum and coal-based sorbents (160-900 mg/g and 850 to 3800 m(2)/g) exhibited the highest CO(2)adsorption capacities and the highest surface areas. The technological and economic feasibilities of these waste-derived sorbents for the simultaneous removal of multicomponent pollutants (SOx, NOx, H-g and CO2) need to be further assessed in future studies, focusing on the development of more resistant and kinetically stable adsorbents using adsorption capacity, temperature and pressure as a design metrics; and techno-economic and life-cycle assessments to aid in the scale-up of adsorbents with outstanding laboratory-scale performances to industrial applications. (C) 2020 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.