Biogas and its role in the energy transition

The document argues that biogas and biomethane should primarily be reserved for hard-to-abate sectors like petrochemical production and industrial heating, as electrification via renewable energy is more cost-effective for power and heat. It highlights that biogas only addresses a minority of agricultural emissions (at most 28.9%) and warns that scaling production to meet targets, such as the EU's 35 bcm goal by 2030, could threaten food security by requiring significant arable land. Additionally, the briefing notes risks from fugitive methane emissions, high reliance on public subsidies, and safety hazards including explosions and toxicity.

• Biogas should be limited to hard-to-abate sectors, such as industrial heating and petrochemical production, because cost-effective renewable energy options for electrification already exist for transportation, heating, and electricity generation.
• The ability of biogas to mitigate agricultural emissions is limited to manure and crop residuals, which together account for only 28.9% of global agricultural emissions. This figure is likely an overestimate because over 80% of global farms are smallholders in developing countries who lack the technical and financial means to install anaerobic digesters.
• The European Commission's RePower EU target of 35 billion cubic metres (bcm) of production by 2030 is likely unattainable using only sustainable sources. An IFEU assessment found only 17 bcm of sustainable biogas could be produced by 2030; reaching the full target would require 5% of EU27 arable land (or 20% of wheat cultivation land), potentially undermining food security.
• Biogas deployment faces significant risks, including fugitive methane emissions that can jeopardize Net Zero commitments, high capital costs (70%-95% of total costs) necessitating heavy subsidies, and safety risks such as explosions and toxic releases.
• More cost-effective alternatives for agricultural emission reduction exist, including sustainable food systems and improved soil and livestock management, which the IPCC estimates can mitigate between 2.2 and 4.1 GtCO2e annually at a cost of less than USD 100 per tonne of CO2 reduced.

APA

Team, Z. (2022). Biogas and its role in the energy transition. Zero Carbon Analytics. https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/nature/biogas-and-its-role-in-the-energy-transition/

Chicago

Team, ZCA. Biogas and its role in the energy transition. Zero Carbon Analytics, 2022. https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/nature/biogas-and-its-role-in-the-energy-transition/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Team |first1=ZCA |title=Biogas and its role in the energy transition |publisher=Zero Carbon Analytics |date=8 November 2022 |url=https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/nature/biogas-and-its-role-in-the-energy-transition/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{team2022biogas, author = {Team, ZCA}, title = {{Biogas and its role in the energy transition}}, institution = {Zero Carbon Analytics}, year = {2022}, month = nov, url = {https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/nature/biogas-and-its-role-in-the-energy-transition/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }