Many industries around the world that have traditionally relied on natural gas for fuel are keen to pivot to biogas, but feel they are being held back from doing so. That’s according to a joint letter released by the companies that have signed up to the Let Green Gas Count campaign.
More than 230 global organisations have now joined the campaign, which is calling for organisations to be able to include biogas in their Scope 1 emissions reporting under the GHG (greenhouse gas) Protocol.
Ahead of COP30, which is being hosted in Brazil this month, the Let Green Gas Count campaign has published a follow-up letter asking attendees at COP30 to deliver an interim statement that shows a commitment to recognising biogas as part of decarbonisation efforts in sectors where electrification is not feasible.
The letter stresses that the use of biogas must be accompanied by “robust market-based instruments in GHG inventories”.
Why is biogas so crucial for decarbonisation?
As the Let Green Gas Count campaign points out, for some industries that are traditionally reliant on fossil fuels, electrification is not immediately possible or would take so long and cost so much that it is not practical.
Heavy industry, such as steel manufacturing, as well as the heavy-duty transport sector are among those calling for a protocol that encourages the use of biofuels, like biomethane, as part of decarbonisation efforts.
They argue that if the GHG Protocol recognised biogases, it would help the market for this form of fuel grow more quickly and encourage takeup of renewable gas as an alternative to fossil fuels.
After electricity and heat emissions, industry is the biggest producer of greenhouse gases in the world, accounting for almost 38 per cent of global fuel combustion emissions. Meanwhile, the transport sector produces around 24 per cent of the world’s emissions.
This highlights the scale of the opportunity if these two sectors are able to decarbonise more rapidly.
Is biogas really renewable?
There are several reasons why biogas is a renewable fuel. Firstly, it’s produced using material that would naturally decay producing gases like CO2 and methane regardless of whether we capture it or not. Think food and other organic waste from agriculture.
The idea behind biogas is to capture the gases produced through that natural decomposition process and use it to power the likes of vehicles and other machinery or equipment that would traditionally be powered by fossil fuels like natural gas.
Secondly, the reason biogas is considered renewable is that burning it doesn’t add any new carbon to the atmosphere. This is important and one of the main ways in which biogas differs substantially from natural gas.
Burning natural gas releases CO2 into the atmosphere that has been safely locked away for centuries as part of the world’s natural carbon cycle. By contrast, while burning biogas still releases CO2 into the atmosphere, it is CO2 that has not yet had the chance to be stored by the Earth’s natural processes.
The CO2 produced through biogas is known as biogenic CO2, which means it has come from recently living organic matter. This means it is part of the natural carbon cycle and using it doesn’t increase the CO2 content in our atmosphere, unlike burning fossil fuels.
What does all this mean for the biogas sector?
Clearer guidance about whether biogas can be included as part of Scope 1 emissions reporting would give more industries and organisations an incentive to make the switch to biogas, ensuring that we are not adding CO2 to the atmosphere by burning more fossil fuels.
In addition, it’s clear that there is a desire among those in the heavy industry and transport sectors to make the switch to biogas wherever it’s feasible to do so. This means that should clear guidance around its use be released, you can expect a significant uptick in demand for this fuel source.
The EU Directorate General for Energy recently explained that biogas can help end Europe’s reliance on natural gas supplies from countries like Russia, which have been severely disrupted in recent years.
Of course, producing biogas requires specialist facilities. We’ve already seen how clear guidance around biogas use in the EU, for example, has boosted takeup of the fuel. We supplied a European client with over 200 breather valves recently due to our ability to provide the required parts on a very tight timeline.
We also provide a range of other components essential for biogas facilities, including pressure vacuum relief valves, emergency vents, flame arresters and liquid level gauges.
