Hansard

I thank my colleague Emma Harper for raising the issue. It links to a number of Scottish Government priorities, but I also know how passionate she is about anaerobic digestion. She was right to say that I visited her region when I was only a few months into being the energy minister. The on-farm anaerobic digestion system was really inspiring. I remember that it also produced carbon dioxide for the drinks industry, which is a compelling business opportunity, given that a lot of carbon dioxide comes from mainland Europe and there is obviously a cost associated with that.

As has been pointed out by everyone who has spoken in the debate, anaerobic digestion has the potential to create new opportunities for rural communities to achieve greater energy independence and to reduce their reliance on the burning of fossil fuels, to deliver a more circular economy and to diversify their business at a time when farmers are finding that they are squeezed in relation to a lot of the prices associated with the produce that they are traditionally involved in. They have to look to other areas to diversify their business, and what is better than using the waste associated with livestock or any kind of food production and turning it into money?

We need to embrace the opportunities that embedding a circular economy can bring. We talk about waste, but it is a resource that can be used to expand business opportunities and create jobs.

In 2024, the Scottish Government published our ambitious “Scotland’s Circular Economy and Waste Route Map to 2030”, which set out our plan to progress into a circular economy, to ensure that we maximise the positive impact of the new Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024 for communities across the whole of Scotland and to realise the economic opportunities that exist in that area, as well as doing the heavy lifting associated with reducing our carbon footprint.

Food waste is one of the more stubborn areas of waste. Of course, food waste is also a feedstock for anaerobic digestion. As I said, waste materials from agriculture are a significant source of emissions, but if some of those materials can be processed into providing heat and electricity, they will add to the abundant mix of natural energy resources that are already displacing the burning of fossil fuels.

Sarah Boyack has left the chamber, but I liked her phrase about turning “a climate liability”—that is, methane—into “a climate solution”. She can find that comment in the Official Report when she reads it later.