ADBA responds to Committee on Climate Change reports

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has published two new reports on land use and biomass and the Anaerobic Digestion & Bioresources Association (ADBA) has responded.

ADBA’s chief executive Charlotte Morton said that the association “welcomes these two important reports from the CCC.”

The first report, Land use: Reducing emissions and preparing for climate change, published by the CCC, assesses the role of land use change in meeting climate change mitigation and adaption objectives. The report examines how the Government needs to address climate change which threatens the land’s ability to provide critical services including clean water, healthy soils and timber. It also recommends that the protection of sufficient food production and growing space is needed due to an increasing population.

Morton detailed how ADBA felt about the CCC’s ideas regarding land use, saying: “The CCC is absolutely right about the need for fundamental reform to ensure land becomes a more effective carbon store. Anaerobic digestion (AD) plants produce nutrient-rich, natural fertiliser that helps to restore organic matter and NPK and lock carbon into soils, and the AD industry would like to see greater recognition from government on how this can help to improve the health of the UK’s soils.” 

She continued: “Use of AD on farms also supports the CCC’s call for low-carbon farming practices through allowing farmers to recycle their manures and slurry into renewable energy and natural fertiliser.”

The second report, Biomass in a low-carbon economy, assesses the role of biomass wood, plants and organic waste in the global strategy to tackle climate change. The report focuses on how biomass can play an important role in meeting the UK’s long term (2050) emission targets. Also covered in the report, is how ADBA think that the UK can move towards net-zero emissions with stricter governance that will ensure sustainable supplies.

ADBA’S Morton says that it “welcomes the CCC’s recognition of the importance of organic waste and energy crops (where grown sustainably) in meeting the UK’s long-term emissions targets. The CCC is absolutely right that the government should continue to support AD deployment to ensure that the industry can make the maximum possible contribution towards tackling climate change.”

As well as ADBA, Aggregated Micro Power (AMP) has responded to the CCC’s reports. The UK’s largest supplier of biomass fuels and leading provider of industrial renewables has said it welcomes that the CCC has recognised that biomass is set to play a key role in a low carbon economy.

AMP’s chief executive Richard Burrell states: “Biomass is more than a transition fuel – today’s report confirms that it must continue to play a vital role in the future energy mix to help the UK meet its decarbonisation targets.”

Burrell added that AMP “welcome the continued recognition that biomass has a part to play for industry across a wide range of applications, however the government must prioritise support for investment in developing CCS technology to realise the full potential of biomass in the energy transition.”