A Role for Biogas in Limiting Climate Change - Progress Since the Paris Agreement - IPCC Report Autumn 2018

Progress Since the Paris Agreement of December 2015, and Biogas Production Toward Limiting Climate Change

The 197 signatories of the Paris Agreement committed to curbing greenhouse gas emissions to prevent global temperature exceeding the pre-industrial average by more than 2°C.

Since the agreement was signed in December 2015, every signatory has ratified it into law and some 1,500 pieces of legislation have been enacted to drive compliance.

Three years ago, climate science indicated that beyond 2°C there was an increasing risk of passing a "tipping point"', where feedback loops within the climate system will propel runaway change.

But in October 2018 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported its findings from a three-year study comparing the impacts of climate change if limited to 1.5°C, compared to 2°C. It drew on 6,000 scientific contributions and 42,000 expert and government opinions.

Halting global temperature rise at 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels would bring major benefits for the environment, society and economy, the report says.

It warns that the global impacts of climate change will be much more severe under a 2°C scenario than previously estimated.

The report highlights the need to adopt the 1.5°C threshold to prevent "dangerous climate change".

The IPCC emphasizes that the global temperature is already 1°C above the pre-industrial average.

That's the end of our progress update, since the Paris Agreement of December 2015.

So what can be done now, without waiting for new technologies, and also make a difference by helping all governments to comply?
The answer is to introduce ambitious targets to accelerate the installation of on-farm biogas plants.

That's because: Worldwide GHG emissions from livestock supply chains are estimated to produce 7.1 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide CO2 equivalent (CO2e) per annum. This represents 14.5% of all human-induced emissions.

Of the total, storage and handling of manure represent 10 per cent.

Therefore, On-farm anaerobic digestion (AD) of manures has significant potential to capture methane as a renewable energy source and, as a consequence, to reduce net global GHG emissions. 

UK biogas production in 2018 already created enough power to replace one major UK power station of which there are about 1 dozen in operation.


That's easily enough, to "make a difference"! So, we encourage you to promote anaerobic digestion and biogas to your politicians, and return here to comment, and tell us about the replies you get.

Sources: 1. New Civil Engineer, December 2018
and 2. the  IEA Bioenergy report, " Exploring the viability of small scale anaerobic digesters in livestock farming", by Clare Lukehurst and Angela Bywater (2015). Video by: www.anaerobic-digestion.com .
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