The Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA) alongside leading businesses from UK industry and the biogas sector, has written to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband MP, calling for the urgent recognition of biomethane as a Net Zero fuel. The letter warns that failure to act swiftly risks jeopardising the UK’s Net Zero targets and putting over £8 billion of private sector investment at risk.
The letter, co-written by Chair and former Secretary of State Chris Huhne and Chief Executive Charlotte Morton OBE, has been signed by over 95 industry representatives and businesses, including one of the UK’s biggest trade unions, the GMB, and each of Great Britain’s and Northern Ireland’s gas distribution networks. The signatories call on Ed Miliband to confirm that biomethane will be treated as a net zero fuel within the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) to fully recognise its value within our net zero ambitions, and to unlock global investment in this primed and ready to grow green sector.
Commenting on the letter, ADBA Chair Chris Huhne said “The UK biogas industry is being unfairly penalised under the current rules of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Biomethane – an often carbon negative technology – is treated the same as climate-wrecking fossil gas. It makes no sense, and it’s holding back investment in the infrastructure we need to reach net zero.”
Andy Prendergast, National Secretary of the GMB, said of the union’s support for the letter: “The gas network not only heats and powers millions of homes and businesses, it also supports hundreds of thousands of well-paid jobs. Recognising green gases like biomethane as Net Zero fuels under the UK Emissions Trading Scheme not only gives us a path towards net zero, it also provides a way to protect those livelihoods whilst building a viable export industry. We need to seize this opportunity with both hands.”
The letter highlights the important role biomethane could play in net zero if ETS recognition is granted, particularly in the hard-to-decarbonise areas such as chemicals and manufacturing sectors.
It states. “[Biomethane] supports rural economies, displaces fossil fuels, and cuts methane emissions. […] It also plays a critical role in decarbonising high-value industrial sectors that are essential to the UK’s national security and economic resilience.”
Through this open letter, ADBA and the biogas industry call on the Secretary of State to:
- Confirm that biomethane injected into the UK’s gas grid will be eligible under the UK ETS as a net zero fuel in the same way as sustainable aviation fuel
- Ensure UK ETS rules fully reflect biomethane’s full value
- Set out a clear timeline for implementation to give the market confidence,
They conclude: “Developers and investors urgently need clarity and confirmation that the full net zero value of biomethane will be recognised. Further delays threaten to stall a sector that is ready to scale and deliver.”
“This is an immediate opportunity to unlock growth, accelerate decarbonisation, and bring forward billions in private investment. We urge you to act now.”
Read the letter
