A coalition of leading industrial and energy companies has urged the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol to formally recognise renewable gas certificates in its forthcoming standards update, warning that the lack of clarity risks slowing investment in biomethane and other low-carbon gases as COP30 opens in Belém, Brazil.
The call comes from the Let Green Gas Count campaign, coordinated by Eurogas, the European Biogas Association and the American Biogas Council.
More than 30 companies have signed the joint letter, including Nestlé, Volvo Trucks, Tata Steel Nederland, Pernod Ricard, Electrolux Group and Carrefour.
The signatories are asking the GHG Protocol to issue interim guidance that acknowledges market-based instruments such as guarantees of origin and proof-of-sustainability certificates, arguing that this would help accelerate the global expansion of renewable gas.
The GHG Protocol, jointly managed by the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, underpins the carbon accounting frameworks of 97 per cent of the Fortune 500.
Its current version, drafted before the rapid development of renewable gas markets, does not explicitly permit companies to account for certified biomethane purchases in their emissions reporting.
Andreas Guth, Secretary General of Eurogas, said the review offered a chance to modernise global accounting rules. “European industry needs standards that are fit for purpose and acknowledge renewable gases’ pivotal role in cutting industrial emissions. This review can strengthen investor confidence in biogas, biomethane and their derivatives worldwide,” he said.
The coalition represents sectors where electrification remains technically or economically challenging, such as steelmaking, heavy transport and food production. Albert Kassies, Director of New Energy at Tata Steel Nederland, said biomethane could play a major role in decarbonising steel and other energy-intensive industries but that the lack of recognition in the GHG Protocol remained “a key barrier”.
Maria Pia De Caro, Executive Vice President at Pernod Ricard, said renewable gases were crucial to “closing the loop” by valorising production by-products, while Volvo Trucks’ Environmental Director, Lars Mårtensson, added that official recognition of renewable gas certificates would “help accelerate the decarbonisation of industrial operations and transport by allowing the market for renewable gases to grow more quickly”.
The International Energy Agency’s 2025 Outlook for Biogas and Biomethane highlights that more than 50 new policies have been introduced globally since 2020 to promote renewable gas, yet only around five per cent of sustainable biogas and biomethane potential is currently being utilised.
Patrick Serfass, Executive Director of the American Biogas Council, described biogas as the “Swiss Army knife” of renewable fuels, “often carbon-negative, always community-positive, and essential for cutting emissions in hard-to-abate industries”.
Industry leaders are calling for interim clarity before the GHG Protocol’s full revision, which is not expected until 2028.
They argue that clear, immediate recognition of renewable gas certificates would provide the certainty needed to scale production and investment, enabling renewable gases to make a greater contribution to global net-zero targets.
Industry leaders press GHG Protocol to recognise renewable gas certificates
