PRESS RELEASE: ADBA Comments on UN World Environment Day

• The Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association has commented on the occasion of the UN’s World Environment Day.

World Environment Day is the United Nations day for encouraging worldwide awareness and action to protect our environment. Since it began in 1974, the event has grown to become a global platform for public outreach that is widely celebrated in over 100 countries. Each World Environment Day is organised around a theme that draws attention to a particularly pressing environmental concern, with the theme for 2019 being air pollution.

Chief Executive of ADBA, Charlotte Morton, has welcomed the focus of this year’s event, given the potential of the AD sector to help cut air pollution and help mitigate the climate emergency.  Globally, anaerobic digestion and biogas have the potential to reduce global emissions by over 10%, give a £1 trillion boost to the green economy, and make a significant contribution to nine of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, through delivering benefits such as waste management, improved air quality, and restoring degraded soils.

The benefit of AD can be particularly felt in developing countries, who may not have access to proper sewerage, organic waste collections, or access to power grids. AD and its products can help create local employment, absorb wastes and create local power networks, leading to a cleaner environment and local economic development.
Charlotte Morton said;

“On World Environment Day, it is a chance to take stock and think about how we can act to mitigate and stop the climate emergency we find ourselves in. Greater use of anaerobic digestion and biogas worldwide can play an important role in reducing our carbon emissions, supporting green growth in developing countries, and providing clean heat and power.

There are4.2 million deaths every year worldwide from ambient air pollution, and an astonishing 3.8 million from dirty cookstoves alone. Biogas and biomethane from AD can hugely contribute to reducing these numbers by providing clean fuel for transport, and replacing wood and paraffin cooking stoves with cleaner alternatives. ADBA will continue to work with partners both here and abroad to contribute to tackling the shared climate challenges we face.”

ENDS

Notes for editors

Anaerobic Digestion & Bioresources Association (ADBA) website: www.adbioresources.org

ADBA is the trade association for the anaerobic digestion (AD) industry in the UK and companies and organisations working on novel technologies and processes that compliment the anaerobic digestion process and products. With our members we promote the economic and environmental benefits of AD in the UK.

We represent organisations from many sectors including: AD operators, AD developers, AD equipment providers, water companies, farmers, food & drink retailers, waste companies, universities and more.

Contact details

Jon Harrison, External Affairs Manager, ADBA

T: 0203 176 5441  E: jon.harrison@adbioresources.org

Website: www.adbioresources.org

Twitter: @adbioresources