Chief Executive’s Monthly Update – July2025
By Charlotte Morton OBE, Chief Executive of the World Biogas Association
Welcome to this edition of the WBA Newsletter.
At this year’s Opening Ceremony of the World Biogas Summit, we were honoured to be joined by several of the world’s most influential organisations in the energy and climate space – including the International Energy Agency (IEA), the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) (serving as the Secretariat of the Global Methane Pledge), and the Global Methane Hub. Their presence and participation served as a powerful recognition of the critical role our sector plays in driving a just and inclusive clean energy transition, as well as in addressing the urgent challenge of global warming.
These key stakeholders not only reaffirmed the transformational potential of anaerobic digestion (AD) and biogas, but also explicitly endorsed the leadership of the World Biogas Association (WBA) in advancing the professionalisation of our industry. Our collective efforts to ensure that the next wave of biogas deployment is implemented safely, sustainably, and to the highest standards – supported by robust policy frameworks and regulatory alignment – are now gaining significant international momentum.
On the sidelines of the World Biogas Expo and Summit, we hosted the 13th National Associations Roundtable to strengthen collaboration across markets, and the first-ever meeting between the Indian and Brazilian delegations, aimed at facilitating knowledge exchange and fostering partnerships between two biogas markets with significant synergies and potential for shared growth.
Following the success of the Expo and Summit, I was invited by GasNZ to travel to New Zealand for their excellent Biogas Bridge event, which brought together all stakeholders necessary to develop a biogas industry in NZ. After Minister for Energy Simon Watts’ keynote, I had the honour of presenting how our #MakingBiogasHappen (MBH) programme can support the growth of the country’s biogas and biomethane sector. As New Zealand confronts declining fossil gas supplies and escalating climate challenges, we have been invited to assist GasNZ and the Bioenergy Association of New Zealand in developing their National Biogas Action Plan.
Meanwhile, through the #LetGreenGasCount Coalition, we are preparing to launch high-level recommendations for the transparent and harmonised recognition of renewable and low-carbon gases – such as biomethane – within the GHG Protocol framework. These recommendations will be presented at a side event during New York Climate Week in September.
The months ahead promise to be busy and impactful. In August we’ll be in Busan, South Korea, for the 16th Clean Energy Ministerial, presenting the strategic importance of biogas/biomethane and our MBH initiative to governments. We have also been invited to attend 2025 Asia Waste Methane Convening in Seoul on 8th-9th September and the Ministerial Meeting on Sustainable Fuels hosted by Japan and Brazil’s governments in Osaka, Japan on 15 September in preparation for COP30. In November, WBA will head to Brazil to participate in a series of pre-COP events in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, before attending COP30 in Belém. We’ve applied to host an official side event and exhibit, ensuring our sector is firmly part of the global climate dialogue.
We’re also proud to share that WBA, particularly the MBH programme, has been invited to join three of COP30’s official Activation Groups – tasked with advancing some of this year’s central objectives: delivering an inclusive energy transition and universal access to energy, and reducing non-CO₂ greenhouse gases. This is yet another sign of growing global recognition of biogas as a key climate solution and WBA’s leadership role in the development of the global industry.