EU Methane Strategy recognises key role of biogas and biomethane

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the objective of the European strategy on methane that the EU Commission presented today in the scenario of the Green Deal: it includes legislative and non-legislative actions in the energy, agriculture and waste sectors, which account for around 95% of methane emissions associated with human activity worldwide.

One of the priorities under the strategy is to improve measurement of methane emissions and reporting of emissions from agriculture through better data collection.

The EU will promote emission reduction opportunities by supporting the common agricultural policy and the new tool for European recovery after Covid-19, NextGenerationEU, through projects for the production of biogas in rural areas. The Commission will propose a pilot project to support agricultural communities in developing biogas projects and accessing funds for biogas production from agricultural waste, in order to generate additional income streams in rural areas while avoiding emissions of methane. The collection of this waste will therefore be further incentivized. The Commission will work with the EU’s international partners and industry to achieve emission reductions along the supply chain.

In the waste sector, the Commission will consider further action to improve landfill gas management, exploiting its energy consumption potential while reducing emissions, and will review relevant landfill legislation in 2024. Minimize disposal of waste biodegradable waste in landfills is essential to avoid the formation of methane. The Commission will consider proposing further research on waste in biomethane technologies.

For further information: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/it/ip_20_1833

The European Biogas Association (EBA) welcomed the Commission’s new plan. “The Methane Strategy – according to Susanna Pfluger, Secretary General of EBA – shows that biogas and biomethane are a key part of the solution to reduce methane emissions in the agricultural and waste management sectors. Biogas and biomethane can turn the re-use of waste into an opportunity, being a source of rural development and shaping our circular economy ”.