The World Biogas Summit 2021 will focus on how, in the build up to COP26, anaerobic digestion (AD) and biogas can help reduce global methane and other greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. In particular, it will explore the need to capture and recycle the 105bn tonnes of organic wastes generated by human activity every year – and turn these wastes into a valuable resource (1).
Held online from 6th to 8th July, the event is organised by the World Biogas Association (WBA), with a keynote speaker line-up that includes Keisuke Sadamori, Acting Deputy Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, and Drew Shindell, Special Representative for Action on Methane, Climate & Clean Air Coalition. The organisers say this leads “an impressive line-up of eminent figures from not only the global biogas sector, but also from the worlds of finance, retail and urbanism.”
Entitled “It’s all about the methane”, the 2021 Summit programme will review how to efficiently capture organic wastes, recover the gases and nutrients they contain and recycle them in the form of clean energy and natural fertilisers – achieving GHG emissions savings, displacing fossil-based equivalents, restoring soil health and helping reduce the carbon footprint of hard-to-decarbonise sectors such as heat, transport, agriculture and waste management – thus contributing to countries meeting their Net Zero targets.
Ahead of his address, CCAC’s Drew Shindell said: “Methane mitigation is one of the most significant climate actions the world can take this decade. There are cost-effective solutions that can be implemented immediately, and the benefits far outweigh the costs. The world needs to make 2021 a ‘methane moment,’ by committing to implement policies and measures to rapidly reduce methane emissions and working to drive a decade of methane action.”
Alongside Mr Sadamori and Mr Shindell, confirmed speakers include:
Justin Goldstein, Vice-President, Goldman Sachs
Carlyle Khan, Deputy General Manager, City of Toronto
Chris Maloney, President, Integrated Biogas Alliance & Global Head of Renewables, Zenviro Tech (USA).
Andrew Griffiths, Head of Value Chain Sustainability, Nestlé UK&I
Pawel Kisielewski, CEO, CCm Technologies
Dr Keith Simons, Principal Scientist, SHV Energy
Tej Gidda, Vice-President and Global Leader, GHD
James Rockall, CEO, World LPG Association
Also, in conversation with WBA CEO Charlotte Morton:
John Hanselman, founder and CEO, Vanguard Renewables, who has blazed a trail in forging strategic alliances with farm associations, utilities and the food industry, including Starbucks and Unilever. The company has rewritten the farm-based biogas production rulebook.
View programme and full list of speakers.
“The biogas industry is growing rapidly worldwide, which presents both exciting new opportunities to grasp and challenges to explore and overcome together.” says Charlotte Morton, WBA’s Chief Executive. “We are delighted and proud to welcome such an impressive line-up of speakers to our third World Biogas Summit – this reflects the growing recognition our industry is receiving well beyond our own community. As the UK prepares to host COP26, this conference will be an important event to demonstrate to international policy makers that There’s No Net Zero without Biogas.”
Notes
(1) The WBA’s Biogas: Pathways to 2030 report published in March 2021 establishes that treating the 105bn tonnes of organic waste generated by human activity through AD would enable the industry to deliver over a 10% reduction in global GHG emissions annually by 2030. AD and biogas are also recognised to contribute towards nine of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.
