Hansard

I will not, because I am hosting an event that is supposed to start in about three minutes, and I would like to dash off after my speech. I apologise for that, Presiding Officer, and acknowledge that, of course, the event will not start until we have finished this debate.

We need to do more to champion this tech. Looking ahead, I note that biogas and upgraded biomethane could play a growing role in transport, particularly for heavy vehicles and agricultural machinery. If we were to produce sustainable aviation fuel at Grangemouth, captured bio CO₂ could support SAF production in Scotland. That would be a big step forward.

As Emma Harper mentioned, AD offers tangible benefits for farmers. At a time when fertiliser prices have been volatile and environmental standards are rightly rising, digestate gives farmers a stable home-grown alternative. In relation to energy security and rural resilience, biomethane can be used for heat, transport, industry and dispatchable power.

As we focus on tackling our climate emissions, we need to focus more on anaerobic digestion. That means that we need to think about separating and collecting different types of waste, so that food waste, for example, can be utilised effectively.

The United Kingdom methane action plan stresses that methane reduction must go hand in hand with profitable farming and strong rural economies, and AD is one of the few technologies that can deliver on all fronts at once. That is why the creation of a champion in the Scottish Government, as Emma Harper’s motion calls for, would provide a really good way forward. The UK Government is a global methane pledge champion. In Scotland, a dedicated biogas champion would help to align agriculture, waste, heat, energy and environmental policies and to tackle the challenges that Maurice Golden raised.

We need to unlock the sector’s full potential. We have the natural resources, the rural expertise and the climate ambition to lead the way on anaerobic digestion and biogas. That is exactly the kind of practical and scalable solution that we should be championing in Scotland.

I apologise to colleagues who will be speaking after me, but I look forward to reading the Official Report after the debate. I thank everyone for taking part in this key debate.