Short-lived pollutants side event

Black carbon
Black carbon’s presence is particularly strong in Asia.

The World Biogas Association (WBA) is hosting an official side event in the Blue Zone at COP26, exploring the influence of pollutants like black carbon. The UN organisation received 1,110 applications for 240 slots, to host these side events.

In its application, submitted in partnership with the Kenya Climate Change Working Group (KCCWG), the WBA highlighted the importance of tackling these 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°C, 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 10 November, will demonstrate the importance of recycling organic wastes to reduce the harmful methane and other greenhouse gas emissions they produce.

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.

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.