UK anaerobic digestion trade body reacts to the Climate Change Committee’s latest progress report

UK anaerobic digestion trade body reacts to the Climate Change Committee’s latest progress report

The Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA) has reacted with disappointment to the publication of the UK’s Climate Change Committee’s latest progress report to Parliament.  ADBA is alarmed by the UK Government’s continued lack of leadership and commitment to anaerobic digestion (AD), an industry that could reduce the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions by 6% by 2030, support the UK in meeting its Global Methane Pledge, and create tens of thousands of green jobs.

Chris Huhne, Chairman of ADBA and former Energy and Climate Secretary, said: “Ministers are just coasting into the election. There is no urgency, and we have lost any sense of experimenting with new policies and ideas to tackle the climate crisis. The UK is no longer a climate leader, and the case of green biogas is just another good example where both the USA and the EU are passing us in the fast lane.”

The Green Gas Support Scheme (GGSS) currently provides financial support for new AD plants injecting biomethane, but it will close in November 2025. ADBA agrees with the CCC recommendation that the government must develop a post-scheme strategy to support biomethane generation and its injection into the natural gas network, and that carbon capture, usage and storage should also be supported to facilitate its production.

Fully deployed, the AD sector could produce enough biomethane to power 18 million households by 2030 while supplying 100% of the country’s commercial CO2 demand. The CCC also states that the government must drive action to help the AD sector reach this potential, starting with the launch of the Biomass Strategy and the immediate publication of the outcome of the Consistency in Household and Business Recycling in England consultation.

-ENDS-

For further information, contact:
Jocelyne Bia, Senior Communication Consultant
e: Jocelyne.bia@adbioresources.org; tel: 020 31760592

Notes to editors

• The Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA) is the trade association for the UK anaerobic digestion (AD) and biogas industry. ADBA’s vision is to see the full potential of the UK AD industry realised so it can help the UK achieve its emissions targets and other policy goals, creating a truly circular economy. www.adbioresources.org
• About the AD industry
  • There are currently 727 AD plants operational in the UK.
  • The entire industry digests approximately 46 million tonnes of organic material each year – organic material that would otherwise emit greenhouse gas if left untreated in landfill.
  • An estimated 19.7 TWh of biogas is produced each year by the AD industry – this green gas is either used to generate electricity and heat via a combined heat and power (CHP) unit or upgraded to biomethane and injected directly into the national gas grid. This is enough to heat 1.6 million UK homes.
  • The industry currently delivers 1% greenhouse gas savings in the UK every year.
  • An estimated 4,800 people are currently employed in the AD and biogas industry in the UK.
  • Fully deployed, by 2030, the UK AD and biogas industry expected to:
    • create 30,000 direct and 30,000 indirect jobs.
    • save the UK 27m t of CO2 equivalent = taking 1/3rd of all cars off the road, by 2030.
    • heat 4.5-6.4 million UK homes with the 8 billion m3 of biomethane generated.
• How AD works