Global Biogas Industry Leaders Call on Governments around the World to Unlock the Full Potential of Biogas in Addressing the Climate Emergency

December 11, 2019

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(World Biogas Association) -If all barriers were removed, the biogas industry could abate up to 4bn tonnes of CO₂ equivalent annually, representing at least 12% of today’s global emissions, by 2030. -Today only 2% of the feedstock available globally to produce biogas is captured and recycled. -At the COP25 meeting, the World Biogas Association and its leading corporate members will present UNFCCC with a Declaration in which they commit to delivering the full potential of biogas by 2030 and call upon world governments to support this ambition.

In a ground-breaking B iogas and Clima te Change Commitment Decl aration, major biogas industry corporations, led by the World Biogas Association (WBA), call on the world’s governments to act urgently to unlock the sector’s potential to cut global greenhouse gases emissions by at least 12% within the next 10 years – and therefore make a considerable contribution towards meeting their Paris Agreement targets. In return, these companies commit to putting their full human, financial and technological resources behind enabling the rapid expansion of biogas in all parts of the globe. It is the first time that so many powerful biogas organisations join forces to both demand – and deliver – solutions to address climate change.

WBA President David Newman said: “With measures on the ground not yet aligned with countries’ Paris Agreement targets and UN Sustainable Development Goals commitments, the biogas industry calls on the world’s governments to urgently pass legislation to unleash the enormous potential of the biogas industry. We provide a ready to use technology to cut emissions in the hardest to decarbonise sectors, while creating a circular system that transforms the greenhouse gas-emitting organic wastes society produces into renewable energy, biofertilisers and other valuable bioproducts. The speed at which climate change is accelerating emphasises the urgent need for responses that go beyond business-as-usual to remove the barriers to large scale investment in biogas technologies. We need decisive actions now.”In its recent report, the Global Potential of Biogas, WBA estimated that the number of industrial plants operating globally are currently 132,000. By 2030 there needs to be at least 1 million large scale installations (each handling over 100,000 t/pa of feedstock) plus millions of smaller scale digesters, to achieve the emissions reductions targets. All of these units would enable the biogas industry to prevent 4bn tonnes of CO₂ equivalent from being emitted annually – the equivalent of all the emissions of the EU28 in 2017. The sector will need to invest some $5 trillion to design, build and operate those plants, but all barriers to those investments existing today must be eliminated if the industry is to achieve its goal. If deployed to its full potential, WBA estimates that the industry would employ around 10 million people worldwide, from 350,000 currently.

David and WBA Chief Executive Charlotte Morton will deliver the Declaration in person to H.E. Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at the COP25 meeting in Spain, which they will be attending as the WBA is an Observer Party to the Conference.

Signatories to the Declaration:
World Biogas Association
Asia Biogas, Thailand
Clarke Energy, UK
DMT Environmental Technology, Netherlands & USA
Eisenmann Corporation, USA
ENGIE, France
Greenlane Renewables, Canada
Greve Biogass, Norway
Grissan, UK
IES BIOGAS, Italy
MONTELLO, Italy
Nature Energy, Denmark
OMEX Environmental, UK
SHV Energy, Netherlands
SUEZ, France
WELLE Environmental Group, China

Read the Declaration

Greenlane Renewables and Other Global Biogas Industry Leaders Call on Governments Around the World to Unlock the Full Potential of Biogas in Addressing the Climate Emergency (Business Wire/Greenlane Renewables)

Global biogas leaders call on governments to unlock the full potential of biogas in addressing the climate emergency (Bioenergy International)

World Biogas Association presents UNFCCC with industry commitment to deliver 12% global GHG emissions reduction by 2030 at COP25. (World Biogas Association)

WBA President David Newman presents H.E. Mr Ovais Sarmad, Deputy Executive Secretary of the UN Climate Change Secretariat with the Biogas and Climate Change Commitment Declaration at COP25
In the Declaration, major biogas industry players commit to delivering a 12% reduction in global greenhouse gases emissions by 2030 provided world governments help unlock the sector’s potential
H.E. Mr Ovais Sarmad praises the industry for setting an important example

In their Biogas and Climate Change Commitment Declaration, unveiled on 27th November this year, biogas industry leaders call on world governments to unlock the sector’s considerable potential towards meeting their Paris Agreement targets. In return, they commit to putting their full human, financial and technological resources behind enabling the rapid expansion of biogas in all parts of the globe.On Friday 6th December at the UNFCCC Conference of Parties in Madrid (COP25), David Newman, President of the World Biogas Association (WBA) presented H.E. Mr Ovais Sarmad, Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat, with a Declaration recently signed by the Association and major industry companies in which they commit to deliver a 12% reduction of global greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions by 2030 – subject to the barriers to the industry’s growth being removed by world policy makers.

A WBA report published in the summer shows that the biogas industry could abate up to 4bn tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually. This represents at least 12% of today’s global emissions, by 2030. Today, only 2% of the feedstock available globally to produce biogas is captured and recycled.

On presenting the Declaration, David Newman said: “The need for urgent action is clear to all; Governments alone cannot resolve the climate change emergency, they need help. The biogas industry can offer technologies and the mobilisation of huge financial resources to help reduce GHG by 12% within a decade. But Governments have to do their part too, in creating the right frameworks for the investments to be made. We support the UN process and our corporate members commit to doing their part to help this process become reality, there is no time to lose.”

H.E. Mr Ovais Sarmad responded: “I thank you for bringing us this important commitment. The UN negotiating process alone is not enough; we also need innovation, technologies, private sector investments, to make national commitments a reality on the ground. The scale of the commitment by the global biogas industry is precisely the sort of example we need and we will ensure this is transmitted to the Parties.”

The signatories to the Declaration are companies that develop and finance, design, build and operate industrial anaerobic digestion plants and related infrastructure globally to treat and recycle biodegradable wastes and feedstocks to produce biogas or biomethane, green CO2, natural fertilisers and other bioproducts.
The biogas industry captures emissions from organic wastes and turns them into energy for diverse end-uses such as electricity and biomethane for heat and transport. Biogas production also generates environmentally friendly solutions for soil fertilisation. The industry can therefore help to speed up the shift away from fossil fuels towards a zero-carbon economy and a sustainable agriculture.
The Global Potential of Biogas report highlights the potential of AD as a technology to generate renewable energy, abate GHG emissions and recover organic nutrients and carbon for use on soil. The report also sets out the potential of AD to help meet the climate change targets under the Paris Agreement.
Launched at COP22 in Marrakesh in 2016, the World Biogas Association is the global trade association for the biogas, landfill gas and anaerobic digestion (AD) sectors, and is dedicated to facilitating the adoption of biogas globally. It believes that the global adoption of biogas technologies is a multi-faceted opportunity to produce clean, renewable energy while resolving global issues related to development, public health and economic growth. www.worldbiogasassociation.org @wbatweets READ MORE