News article, 28. April 2023
Great opportunities to meet the EU's climate requirements
The EU's climate requirements have long been a keenly debated topic across the Union.
In 2020, Folketing (the Danish Parliament) passed a law that requires Denmark to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 70 per cent in 2030 compared to 1990 levels. Similarly, the food and agriculture cluster’s vision is for Denmark to be climate neutral by 2050. Denmark's CO2 emissions must be substantially reduced, and there are several ways to drive progress in that direction. Biogas can well be the key to meeting the climate targets.
During its AGM at the end of March, Biogas Denmark assessed how an increase in biogas production could be beneficial in meeting the climate targets. The company presented a proposal for a comprehensive political package solution where a rapid increase in biogas production would provide major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. This was not just about those from agriculture, but also from the transport, industry and energy sectors – and includes non-ETS (Emissions Trading System) quota sectors.
Biogas – a powerful weapon
Denmark's fulfilment of the ETS quota emission targets is going well. CO2 reductions are significantly better than the EU average. The non-quota sector climate targets are different, however, but biogas can be a powerful weapon in meeting them.
CO2 emissions is a particular challenge in the agriculture and transport fields. By increasing the production of biogas, it will be possible to remove large amounts of methane emissions from agriculture. This occurs when livestock manure from e.g. pigs, is discharged on a regular basis and delivered to a biogas plant, where it is converted into biogas. The process means that greenhouse gas emissions are reduced.
Read also: Frequent discharge leads to reduced methane gas in pig production (agricultureandfood.co.uk)
According to Biogas Denmark, the introduction of a displacement requirement will increase the development of biogas production. This requirement would be one where, together with a CO2 tax rebate, the CO2 content of the fuel sold must be reduced by a given percentage. Tax rebates, among other things, already exist in Germany and Sweden, where the respective tax authorities give rebates on Danish-produced biogas.
Quota and non-ETS quota sectors
A sector discharge that is subject to quotas is directly managed by the EU. It includes the energy sector and the most energy-intensive companies in the EU. This means that the EU regulates emissions of CO2 in quotas, which companies can buy into or sell on if they are not used. A quota corresponds to one tonne of CO2 in total. This allows the EU to regulate CO2 emissions via quota numbers.
The non-quota sectors include CO2 emissions from the transport and agricultural sectors, as well as selected parts of the energy sector plus other industries. The EU has assigned Denmark a reduction target of 39% for the non-quota covered emissions.