| Energy
World Biogas
Association celebrates
first birthday at COP23
Global biogas association celebrates first year of
achievements.
he World Biogas
Association (WBA)
is today
celebrating its first
year of
achievements at
the UN COP23 Climate Change
Conference in Bonn as global
leaders come together to review
progress on reducing greenhouse
gas emissions.
The WBA was founded a year
ago at COP22 in Marrakech with
the aim of demonstrating the huge
contribution that biogas can make
to reducing emissions and
supporting policymakers to create
an environment that will
encourage the development of
biogas globally. Biogas, produced
through reprocessing organic
wastes and purpose-grown energy
crops in anaerobic digestion
plants, can be used to produce
renewable heat and power, clean
T
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transport fuel, and nutrient-rich
biofertiliser, and has the potential
to reduce global greenhouse gas
emissions by up to 20%.
In its first year, the WBA has
published: a report on the
contribution of biogas to meeting
the UN Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs); three factsheets on
how biogas can improve urban air
quality, mitigate climate change,
and meet the UN SDGs; and five
reports on biogas markets in the
US, Netherlands, Italy, Australia,
and Poland respectively. The WBA
is now working closely with the
C40 Cities Climate Leadership
Group on a report into increasing
the uptake of separate food waste
collections around the world and
helping cities understand how
biogas technologies can help
them resolve issues around food
waste.
WBA President David Newman
David Newman
is speaking at an event at COP23
this Thursday (9th November)
titled ‘Solving the nexus between
waste, energy and agriculture –
biogas technologies as a global
solution’, which will examine how
biogas can help to meet
international climate goals and the
UN SDGs.
Celebrating WBA’s
achievements from its first year, Mr
Newman said:
“It’s incredible to think that a
whole year has already passed
since we established the WBA at
COP22 in Marrakech to be the
voice for biogas around the world.
We already have over 50 members
from five different continents, and
we’re growing all the time as those
working in biogas across the
planet look to the WBA to
represent them at the highest
political levels.
“I’m delighted to be speaking
here at COP23 to share the many
benefits of biogas with politicians,
policymakers, industry, and
academics from all over the world.
This crucial summit is the perfect
precursor to our report with C40
on how cities can use biogas to
resolve issues around food waste
collection and treatment.
“Biogas has enormous potential
to provide solutions for waste
management, renewable energy,
sustainable farming, and food
security in every country of the
world, and the WBA is looking
forward to celebrating even more
achievements in our second year
as we spread this message to
policymakers and politicians far
and wide.”
December 2017 | Farming Monthly | 27