With biomethane to COP23: Climate-friendly mobility is possible now
This year’s UN Climate Change Conference, the COP23, has taken place from November 6 to 17 in Bonn, Germany, with over 25,000 participants from all over the world discussing how to protect the climate and save our environment. In order to highlight that the mobility sector is often neglected in discussions about how to stop climate change, the German Biogas Association (GBA) has taken the opportunity to put the spotlight on a climate-friendly mobility option that is already available now: biomethane. A biomethane fueled vehicle emits up to 90 % less CO2 in comparison to a gasoline fired model. By using its biomethane-fueled bus, GBA has implemented a tour during the days prior to COP23 driving from its headquarters close to Munich to Bonn and visiting several sites on the way that feature best practice examples of the biomethane sector.
At the first stop in Pliening, close to Munich, one of Germany’s first biogas upgrading plants was visited. About 200 plants of this kind exist in Germany. A further stop in Augsburg showcased an exemplary transport project fueling all public buses running throughout the city of Augsburg with biomethane. In Frankfurt, GBA took a look at the situation of approximately 900 CNG fueling stations in Germany out of which 125 offer pure biomethane fueling while a further 100 offer a blend of natural gas and 10-90 percent biomethane. It is remarkable that the automobile manufacturer Volkswagen intends to increase the number of CNG fueling stations up to 2,000 and CNG vehicles up to 1 million (currently: 100,000) in Germany by 2025.
In addition to these stops on the way to COP23, a panel debate was organized at the final destination in Bonn: Various experts from the mobility and renewable energy sector discussed how the path to CO2 free mobility could look like. The panel participants agreed that a transition to renewable energy in the mobility sector cannot be achieved without involving consumers and without having set ambitious political framework conditions. However, the tour has shown once more that change in the mobility sector it is possible nevertheless and the corresponding climate-friendly technology is already available with biomethane.
Further information and materials about the COP23 tour of GBA can be found here (German).
Written by Mareike Fischer (German Biogas Association)
