and fuel production Harm Grobrgge European Biogas Association - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Biogas done right – supporting food and fuel production Harm Grobrügge – European Biogas Association

Strong connection between agriculture and climate • Agriculture is strongly affected by climate change • At the same time, the sector’s contribution to the total GHG emissions of the EU is nearly 10% • 60% of all methane emissions globally originate from the energy, waste and agriculture sectors Contribution of agriculture to total GHG emissions (%), EU-28, 2015 Source: European Environment Agency

EU agriculture must be made fit for the future • Agricultural systems must become more efficient: Increase productivity and resilience while limiting environmental impacts Food security Climate smart • Innovation and creativity with BiogasDoneRight : high carbon Eliminate deforestation savings and positive environmental externalities, e.g. increased carbon content of soils, increased soil fertility and lower input of chemical fertilizers Source: CIB – Consorzio Italiano Biogas

Biogas Done Right • Sequential cropping: harvesting two crops instead of one on the same field in a single year • Nutrients being recycled back to the field through biogas digestate Source: CIB – Consorzio Italiano Biogas

Conclusions • The Italian experience has shown that the integration of biogas production with the farming activities allows the continuation of successful food and feed output from the farms and the reduction of production costs, thus yielding a better economic profitability of the agribusiness. • The “Centro Ricerche Produzione Animali” (CRPA) in Reggio Emilia compared 3 BDR farms to farms with AD using conventional monocrop maize with chemical fertilizers. Result: GHG emissions of biomethane production were reduced by 86% in the worst case or became even negative in the best case because of the avoided emissions of stored raw manure in open ponds. • The distinction in EU renewables legislation (RED II) between food and no-food crops does not make practical and logical sense: what matters is that more biomass is created on existing farmland without harming current food and feed production. • Biogasdoneright is currently implemented in Italy, should be expanded in other parts of Europe as well. The BDR concept is consistent with the 4 pour 1000 initiative launched in France aiming to show that agriculture and agricultural soils in particular can play a crucial role in GHG mitigation.