ADBA joins calls for Scottish government to drive transition to carbon neutral farming

The Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA), the association for the UK’s anaerobic digestion industry, is among the signatories of a letter calling on the Scottish Government ‘to do more to help agriculture turn a corner and substantially reduce its greenhouse gas emissions’.

Specifically, the joint letter urges Scottish Cabinet Secretaries Roseanna Cunningham and Fergus Ewing to support farming practices that have a less damaging climate impact, “putting us on a path to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture by 2050.”

As well as ADBA, the 50 signatories to the letter include the National Farmer’s Union, the Scottish Crofting Federation, and a host of NGOs, rural groups, farmers and academics.

According to Pete Smith, Professor of Soils and Global Change at University of Aberdeen Science and Director of Scotland’s ClimateXChange, the land sector contributes around 24% of all Scotland’s greenhouse gas emissions, meaning farming needs to be part of the solution.

“By adopting this ambitious net carbon neutral target for the agricultural sector, Scotland has the opportunity to lead the world toward the goals and targets set out under the Paris Agreement,” Smith said in a statement.

 

An AD solution

ADBA Chief Executive Charlotte Morton explained why the trade association has signed the joint letter.

“Anaerobic digestion plants can support Scottish farmers in reducing their emissions through providing a treatment option for agricultural wastes such as manures and slurries, producing on-site renewable heat and power, and producing a nutrient-rich digestate biofertiliser that can help to restore soils and displace the use of artificial, fossil-fuel-derived chemical fertilisers,” Morton told Bioenergy Insight.

“There are now over 50 operational AD plants spread across Scotland, treating a range of wastes and crops including animal slurries and manures, food waste, grass silage, sugar beet, and various grains and wheats from Scotland’s famous breweries and distilleries, and another 50 plants in the planning stage,” she continued.

“The Scottish AD industry has seen impressive recent growth in the agricultural sector in particular, and with the right support from the Scottish Government it has the potential to deliver much more.”