The founders of the COP21 Paris Agreement on climate change have established the World Biogas Association in order to demonstrate the huge contribution that biogas and anaerobic digestion (AD) industries make to climate goals and targets, and to facilitate the adoption of these technologies globally. The new trade association will dedicate itself to supporting the growth of biogas and AD technologies to maximise their contribution to UNFCCC commitments and the UN’s Sustainable Development goals.
The WBA now invites companies, associations, universities, professionals and other organisations to be part of the biggest global community demonstrating and delivering the value that anaerobic digestion and biogas contribute across all sectors.
Biogas and AD can reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by around 20 percent by delivering flexible, storable baseload green gas, reducing and recycling food waste and fuelling HGVs, buses, tractors and other vehicles. They can also recycle sewage and waste water, returning carbon to farms and enabling farmers to farm sustainably, as well as restoring depleted soils, reducing poverty and hunger and providing energy and biofertiliser to communities and villages in developing countries.
“I am delighted to see this global perspective from the biogas industry” said President of WBA, David Newman, launching the trade association. “The potential to provide energy security by transforming the millions of tonnes of organic wastes which today are largely unused, is a huge potential indeed. We are part of the Circular Economy, recovering energy and nutrients otherwise lost. We are part of the Bio Economy, delivering feedstocks to potential new industries, through Green Chemistry. We are part of the emancipation of communities detached from electric and gas grids, giving them energy autonomy. We are an ingredient of sustainability, delivering nutrients and renewable energy to the planet. And we have no time to lose to make this happen on a global scale”.
Charlotte Morton, the Chief Executive of the UK’s Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA), added that the establishment of the WBA will help showcase AD’s ability to meet a huge range of global challenges and that biogas is set to become a cheaper energy source than coal. AD should become one of the leading technologies for mitigating climate change, improving sanitation, ensuring energy and food security and reducing poverty and hunger.
ADBA has joined the WBA as a founder member alongside the Italian Compost and Biogas Consortium (CIC) while HRS Heat Exchangers becomes a founder member of the WBA Advisory Board. The American Biogas Council has also joined.
ADBA believes that the UK could become a global leader in what could become a £1 trillion biogas industry, exporting expertise and equipment worth billions of pounds and creating tens of thousands of jobs.
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