World Biogas Association to highlight the value of the biogas industry at COP26

• The World Biogas Association (WBA) – accredited as Official Observers of the UNFCCC – will have access to the Blue Zone of COP26
• The UNFCCC has approved WBA’s application to host an event in the Blue Zone in partnership with the Kenya Climate Change Working Group (KCCWG) on 10th November
• The joint WBA-KCCWG event will highlight the value of biogas technology in abating methane through the recycling of organic wastes and in helping countries achieve Paris Agreement targets

Three weeks away from the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26), the World Biogas Association (WBA) is preparing to travel to Glasgow to represent the global biogas industry at the UN Climate Summit and demonstrate the value of the biogas industry in tackling climate change.

As Official Observers of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), WBA will not only be able to attend COP26, but also to access a restricted area – the Blue Zone – where the negotiations take place and where delegations from 197 Parties commit to more climate ambition in order to meet the Paris Agreement targets set at COP21 in 2015.

Additionally, the UNFCCC informed WBA on Sunday that its application to host an official side event in the Blue Zone was successful. Considering that the UN organisation had received an unprecedented 1,110 applications for 240 slots, this was a particularly satisfying outcome for the biogas industry, which is now clearly on their map.

In its application, submitted in partnership with the Kenya Climate Change Working Group (KCCWG), WBA highlighted the importance of tackling short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs), in particular methane and black carbon, to achieve the Paris Agreement targets “to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels”. In line with the Global Methane Pledge issued recently by the US and EU, the joint WBA-KCCWG event taking place on 10th November will demonstrate the importance of recycling organic wastes to reduce the harmful methane and other greenhouse gas emissions they produce.

Charlotte Morton, WBA Chief Executive, said: “We are thrilled to be given this immensely valuable opportunity to demonstrate the importance of the biogas industry in addressing climate change, at what will be the most critical COP meeting since 2015.

In the last year, abating methane has become a focus for all of those involved in the fight against global warming, as highlighted by UNFCCC, IPCC, the IEA and other leading agencies. In Glasgow, WBA will be able to further raise awareness of the key role that our technology plays in tackling this potent, short-lived climate pollutant and the urgency of doing this by the end of the decade. We will also work to ensure all countries integrate biogas into their climate change strategies.

On an optimistic note, 50% of the Global Methane Pledge can be achieved by simply recycling all the organic wastes we humans generate through anaerobic digestion/biogas – a technology widely used today and capable of rapidly scaling up with the right policy and regulatory environment. That is what we at the WBA are aiming to achieve.”

As part of its participation to COP26, WBA has also signed up to the Race to Zero campaign to mobilise actors outside of national governments and build momentum around the shift to a decarbonised economy in the run up to the UN Climate Summit.

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For further information, contact:

Jocelyne Bia, Senior Communications Consultant
e: jbia@worldbiogasassociation.org ; tel: +44 (0)20 3176 0592

Notes to Editors

• As a short-lived greenhouse gas, methane has around 80 times more global warming potential than CO2 over its first 10 years in the atmosphere.
• Launched at COP22 in Marrakesh in 2016, the World Biogas Association is the global trade association for the biogas, landfill gas and anaerobic digestion (AD) sectors, and is dedicated to facilitating the recycling of all organic wastes, crop residues and break crops through biogas globally. It believes that the global adoption of biogas technologies is a multi-faceted opportunity to produce clean, renewable energy, bioCO2 and natural fertilisers while resolving global issues related to development, public health and economic growth. www.worldbiogasassociation.org
• The WBA report Biogas: Pathways to 2030 published in 2020 makes clear recommendations on how to deploy AD around the world, providing governments with a toolkit of measures that will enable the biogas industry to deliver carbon savings and cut the current shortfall identified by the UN in the capacity of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to meet Paris Agreement targets by over a quarter.