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AD biogas ‘can help air quality crisis’

The Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA) and Renewable Energy Association, have called on the government to increase the use of renewable biomethane to fuel vehicles, as part of efforts to tackle air pollution in the UK.

Biomethane can be produced through anaerobic digestion a food and organic waste disposal method, where organic material is broken down to create biogas which can be turned into a biomethane-based fuel.

ADBA and REA have called on the government to increase the use of renewable biomethane to fuel vehicles, as part of efforts to tackle air pollution in the UK.

Yesterday (26 July), the government published a national plan for tackling roadside Nitrogen Dioxide concentrations as part of its upcoming Clean Air Strategy due in 2018. The latest policy proposals aim to fight air pollution at a local level and include a commitment to end the sale of new diesel and petrol only vehicles from 2040.

Under the government’s plans, local authorities are expected to deliver plans to clean up their air within the next eight months. The government is offering funding support for changes such as retrofitting and low emission bus technology.

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ADBA Chief Executive Charlotte Morton said: “Local authorities reading the government’s air quality plans now have the perfect opportunity to follow the example of Nottingham City Transport and others in rolling out biomethane-fuelled municipal bus fleets, which can make huge improvements to air quality in the UK’s towns and cities.”

ADBA claim that in the short and medium term, biomethane “presents the only practical means of decarbonising HGVs, buses and non-road mobile machinery”.

Commenting on the announcement of the Air Quality Plan, James Court, head of policy and external affairs at the Renewable Energy Association, said: “The government can also take steps to reduce carbon emissions and urban pollution today by increasing the amount of renewable biofuels in the petrol mix.

“The UK’s renewable fuel industry supports over 10,000 jobs and has attracted more than a billion pounds of investment in the UK’s renewable fuel manufacturing infrastructure, and is critical during the transition towards an electrified fleet.”

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