CCC Chief to Set Out Role of AD in Meeting Carbon Budgets

Former Environment Secretary and Chairman of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) Lord Deben will set out the role that anaerobic digestion (AD) can play in meeting the UK’s Carbon Budgets at the ADBA National Conference on 7 December 2017.

Lord Deben, a renowned environmentalist who gained prominence among green groups by introducing the 1995 Environment Act and Landfill Tax when Secretary of State for the Environment in the 1990s, will give the keynote presentation at the conference, which brings together AD industry stakeholders with politicians, policymakers, and academics to discuss key issues affecting the AD industry.

Lord Deben’s presentation will focus on the policy measures that the government will need to adopt to meet its greenhouse gas emissions targets following its adoption of the CCC’s recommendations on the Fifth Carbon Budget, which sets strict limits on emissions up to 2032.

In a recent foreword for the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA’s) quarterly member magazine, Lord Deben described AD as ‘an essential weapon in the war against climate change’ and ‘an increasingly efficient way of completing the system by taking what cannot be reused or directly recycled and giving it real value’. The CCC has also previously described injection of biomethane into the gas grid as a ‘low-regret opportunity’.

The ADBA National Conference will also feature panel sessions on: the role of AD in farming, transport, and renewable heat; best practice in AD; and different food waste collection systems. There will also be a keynote presentation from Professor Ian Boyd, Chief Scientific Adviser at Defra, who will discuss the need for mandatory separate food waste collections in England to facilitate food waste recycling through AD. Around half of all households in England currently do not have access to separate food waste collections.

ADBA Chief Executive Charlotte Morton said:

“Lord Deben is highly respected in the environmental sector and the CCC’s role in setting Carbon Budgets and providing independent advice to government on meeting these is critical to the future of our country. We’re delighted to have Lord Deben speaking at our conference to outline how AD can help the government meet its Carbon Budgets across a range of sectors.”