GOVERNMENT MUST MAKE MORE OF ANAEROBIC DIGESTION – JUNIPER .
| Speaking ahead of the ADBA National Conference [3 Dec] where he will be chairing a session, Tony Juniper*, said:“A range of cutting edge technologies offer the opportunity to achieve economic and job creation benefits while at the same time meeting environmental goals. Government really needs to wake up to this basic fact and to more proactively go after the great opportunities we have to hand, including anaerobic digestion.
“Anaerobic digestion can not only help to meet our needs in terms of sustainable energy, but also help to support sustainable farming. When integrated with farming businesses anaerobic digestion can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the overall carbon footprint of food production, including through sustainable soil and nutrient management, thus improving our ability to feed a growing population while reducing the need for commercial fertilisers. “If anaerobic digestion reached its potential, the nutrients from food waste alone would be worth over £200m, and that’s before you’ve taken into account the ‘green’ value of this low-carbon fertiliser. Anaerobic digestion is a closed loop technology, and is therefore a crucial cog in the mechanism of a sustainable society. “This requires a different policy environment. At present this industry is incentivised only in relation to what it delivers in terms of energy generation. While this is welcome it recognises only one aspect of the benefits the technology brings. More should be done to help realise the benefits it also delivers in supporting climate smart farming.” More information on the ADBA National Conference, 3 December, Westminster – including the full conference programme – is available here. |
