Eco2 are delighted to have our name on the UK AD and Biogas Industry Declaration, submitted to the Prime Minister by ADBA last week.
The Declaration commits the AD and biogas industry to doing everything it can to deliver the greatest possible carbon reduction for the UK, and calls on the Government to develop a cohesive support strategy for the sector.
This could not be a more important time. The progress report published by the Committee on Climate Change last week described how this “defining year for the UK’s climate credentials has been marred by uncertainty and delay to a host of new climate strategies”. There is still a huge gap between the UK’s ambitions on greenhouse gas emissions, and the reality.
In the waste industry, huge progress in reducing emissions in the 1990s has gone into reverse, and emissions from the sector have actually begun rising again since 2015. We urgently need to turn this around.
With a supportive policy environment, the AD and biogas sector could deliver a 6% reduction in the UK’s total GHG emissions by 2030. That’s 30% of the CO2 savings needed to meet the 2030 carbon budget.
At full potential, the industry could deliver:
- 30% of the saving needed to meet the 2030 carbon budget set out in the legally binding 5th Carbon Budget
- 6% reduction in total UK GHG emissions, especially through tackling the hardest to decarbonise sectors: waste, agriculture, transport and heat
- 27 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent saved – the equivalent of taking a third of all cars in the UK off the road.
- 8 billion m3 of biomethane generated – enough to heat 6.4 million homes (23% of all UK households)
- 60,000 direct and indirect jobs across the country
- £20 billion investment into UK industry
- 170 million tonnes of organic wastes recycled through AD
That is why the UK’s AD and biogas industry is calling on all levels of local and national government to develop an AD and green gas policy framework that brings together the multiple strands of work ongoing across government into a cohesive support strategy.
That includes supporting anaerobic digestion in agriculture, through introduction of a tariff premium for the treatment of manures and slurries, and a renewable biofertilizer obligation. Governments should also support the use of biomethane in transport, and promote investment in new biomethane plants for refuelling infrastructure. Governments should also target innovation funding that would drive improvements in AD performance, improving the sector’s international competitiveness and reducing the need for financial support.
At Eco2, we know the challenges anaerobic digestion plants face when trying to navigate the complex biomethane and electricity markets, and we know the value of innovation in boosting the performance of well-managed AD plants.
We are on a mission to ensure every AD asset has access to a capable, low-cost asset management service, driving better performance, maximising competitiveness and growing the industry so it can do all it can to help mitigate the climate crisis.
Read the AD Industry Declaration here.
Read more about how Eco2 can improve the performance of your AD plant.