Biomethane from manure; a curse, not a cure

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With the European Biogas Conference starting today, Foodrise EU’s new research shatters arguments for increasing the use of livestock manure as a feedstock for biomethane production and calls for an immediate moratorium on new and expanded factory farms in the EU.

As the EU is planning to scale up its biomethane production from yearly 4.2 billion cubic meters (bcm) to 35 bcm in 2030, industry calculations heavily count on manure which is expected to contribute one third of all raw materials to this target. Under the heading Biomethane from manure: a curse, not a cure, the latest report from the food justice organisation Foodrise EU dramatically bursts the bubble on biomethane production from livestock manure by exposing the perverse link between the current biomethane rush and the intensification of livestock production in Europe.

As new evidence shows, the push towards expanded livestock factory farms for the production of biogas and biomethane throughout Europe – heavily supported by public subsidies and accounting tricks in the Renewable Energy Directive – is in total contradiction with the requirement to drastically reduce livestock production and consumption. While the current move to more plant-based consumption pattern has also been recently affirmed by the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture, it is all the more worrying that current biomethane policies sabotage such positive developments, standing against climate and public health goals.

Despite the remarkable absence of a European Commission impact assessment, increasing biomethane from manure is hailed as a win-all solution, one that reduces environmental impacts of industrial livestock and contributes to energy independence. This sounds too good to be true? Unfortunately, it is, with the current biomethane rush having major perverse environmental, economic and social implications.

As Foodrise EU’s latest report demonstrates, Europe’s blind trust in biomethane:

• Creates (financial and regulatory) incentives to maintain or expand livestock production, when a drastic reduction in both production and consumption is essential to meet the EU’s environmental and public health goals and keep global warming below 1.5°
• Replaces a natural gas dependency with an animal feed dependency sourced from other continents, especially in the Global South, transforming animal feed into energy crops. This shift threatens the EU’s strategic autonomy and perpetuates neo-colonial forms of extractivism.
• Contradicts key EU policies, such as the EU Nature Restoration Law and the Deforestation-free products Regulation.
• Worsens power imbalances by increasing competition for land and driving up rental costs.

Francesca Magnolo, the researcher and technical expert who conducted the research said: “One of the perverse consequences of the biomethane rush is the ironic replacement of dependence on natural gas imports with dependence on animal feed, particularly from the Global South. In other words, biomethane fuels the neo-colonial exploitation of resources outside of Europe. But social justice issues are also emerging here in the EU, where local communities fear increased transports of waste as well as pollution from biomethane production. Most importantly, these concerns are currently being ignored. At the same time, competition for land and thus rental costs for farmers are rising further and further.”

Frank Mechielsen, Director of Foodrise EU highlighted: “This reports bursts the bubble on biomethane from manure and shows it for what it is: a curse, not a cure. We request an immediate moratorium on more industrial livestock and call on policy-makers to prioritise dietary changes instead. What we need now are coordinated EU energy and food policies for a systemic and just change in our food systems. We cannot afford to repeat the painful mistakes of the last harmful biogas boom.”