World Biogas Summit: Biogas is “climate-critical”, no longer a niche sector

The World Biogas Summit 2025 opened in Birmingham, the UK with a clear message that biogas is no longer a niche sector but a climate-critical solution gaining global momentum.

In her keynote speech, World Biogas Association CEO Charlotte Morton outlined how policy shifts, investment signals, and rising international cooperation are aligning to accelerate biogas and biomethane deployment.

She cited International Energy Agency (IEA) figures indicating that “biomethane could meet 25% of the global natural gas demand today using readily available waste feedstocks alone,” while warning that progress still hinges on having the right regulatory environment in place.

Former UK Energy Secretary Chris Huhne reinforced the sector’s strategic value, calling biomethane “the big green battery” due to its dispatchability and seasonal flexibility. He shared new UK modelling showing how biomethane could cut Net Zero transition costs by over 7%, reduce reliance on offshore wind overbuild, and enable negative emissions through concentrated carbon capture.

Speaking via video, Martina Otto from the Climate and Clean Air Coalition stressed that biogas must be done “well” to maximise methane reductions. “Done well is the key,” she said. “We don’t see what happens when systems are rushed, under-resourced or poorly maintained.”

Making biogas happen

With policy action from countries like Brazil, India, and the UK, and new international frameworks from the WBA, the opening session set an optimistic tone for two days of technology showcases and global collaboration.

Building on the summit’s opening optimism, the ‘Making Biogas Happen’ session drilled down into how countries are turning ambition into action.

With tailored policy programmes, technology localisation, and a focus on certification and training, India, Brazil and the US aim to define what large-scale deployment looks like on the ground.

This has been supported by Phase One of the Making Biogas Happen programme, which focused on developing a Global Biogas Regulatory Framework – delivered earlier this year alongside an International Anaerobic Digestion Certification Scheme.

The programme has since entered Phase Two, which aims to adapt the framework to national and sub-national levels, focusing initially on countries such as India and Brazil. According to WBA’s Pradeep Monga, it aims to reach 25 to 50 countries over the next six-to-twelve months.

Dr Pradeep Monga, Senior Advisor and Policy Director at the WBA ©gasworld

India is targeting 5% compressed biogas (CBG) blending by 2028 to 2029. Currently, there are over 1,000 CBG plants registered, but only 144 are operational, with 230 under construction and 666 yet to begin.

Support schemes like the SATAT initiative provide incentives, but there are clear challenges. “It takes at least three-to-four years for plants to stabilise the technology and start achieving their full potential,” said Vaibhav Dange of the Indian Federation of Green Energy.

This is compounded by the fragmented nature of India’s agricultural landscape. “We have a different challenge of having very small land holdings, and the large-scale aggregation of feedstocks and storage is something which can take two years to stabilise the entire supply chain,” Dange added.

Brazil has introduced its Fuel of the Future law, which lays out a ten-year roadmap to blend 1% biomethane into natural gas by 2026 and 10% by 2035.

“We intend to have mandates for SAF and biomethane in the next few years,” said Gustavo Ramos of the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

This will be supported by broader policies like the RenovaBio credit system, which promotes GHG-based credits, and national programmes for green diesel, sustainable aviation fuel, and carbon capture and storage.

The US, meanwhile, is focusing on scaling its biogas industry through federal tax incentives, operator training, and digestate certification programmes aimed at strengthening market confidence and preventing project failures.

Bernie Sheff from the American Biogas Council said the council and its partners launched a lobbying effort dubbed the “Biogas Blitz” after the last administration change.

“We spent every other week in Washington, DC, and some of our lobbyists were there every day,” he said. “Members of the American Biogas Council of Renewable Natural Gas coalition were every week on the hill, we had many fly in and beat feet up and down the halls of Congress. I’m really proud of what we were able to do.”

That effort helped retain key investment and production tax credits, as well as a policy assigning a zero-carbon intensity score for manure-based biogas – giving such projects a stronger footing under carbon markets.

Bernie Sheff, Vice President at the American Biogas Council ©gasworld

“We can’t have failing facilities,” Sheff added. “If one fails, they tell ten people. And if ten work, they don’t tell anybody.”

To ensure projects deliver real climate benefit, a new Biogas Leak Reduction Standard has been introduced under the Making Biogas Happen framework.

“This standard provides clear guidance on how to detect, measure and repair leaks – actions that can reduce methane emissions by at least 50% and protect the integrity of the sector’s climate impact,” said Carolina Urmeneta of the Global Methane Hub.

Countries across the Global North and South are taking concrete steps to scale biogas as part of their energy transitions. As Monga noted in closing, Africa in particular holds vast potential for biogas and biomethane as tools for energy security, clean cooking, and inclusive growth.