World Biogas Association INDIA Congress 2025 calls for a transformative biogas decade

The World Biogas Association INDIA Congress 2025 took place on 3-4 December at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, bringing together over 250 delegates and 70 speakers from government, international organizations, industry, and academia. High-level participation included Shri Yesso Sripad Nayak, Minister of State for Renewable Energy; Mr. Pankaj Jain, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas; Mr. Sarangi, Secretary, MNRE; Ms. Mary Burce Warlick, Deputy Executive Director, IEA; Ms. Gauri Singh, Director-General, IRENA; Mr. Tarun Kapoor, Advisor to the Prime Minister; and Dr Meenesh Shah, Chairperson, National Dairy Development Board. The Congress also featured a special address by Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Senior representatives from the IEA, World Bank, UNIDO, public sector undertakings, industry associations, EPC contractors, state governments (Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra), and leading academic and think tank institutions, including TERI, Chintan Research Foundation, and Amity University, actively participated in the discussions. The Pioneer, a major print media group, worked closely to promote advocacy, outreach, and networking.

Key Discussions

The Congress examined pathways to position India as a global hub for biogas and biomethane production, focusing on enabling policies, investment frameworks, infrastructure development, and scalable business models to convert organic waste into clean energy. Discussions emphasized biogas as a strategic pillar for energy security, climate mitigation, waste management, and the circular economy.
Across 11 policy sessions, two fireside chats, two technical workshops, and seven thematic sessions, participants highlighted the cross-sectoral role of biogas in addressing decarbonization challenges, particularly in hard-to-abate sectors such as heavy industry, transport, maritime, and aviation. The plenary session on ‘Unlocking Private Financing for India’s Vibrant Biogas Sector’, chaired by Ms. Charlotte Morton OBE, CEO, WBA, discussed investment opportunities, focusing on mobilizing private equity, blended finance, and guarantees to scale India’s CBG ecosystem. The plenary session on ‘Biogas for Decarbonising Maritime, Aviation, and Transport Sectors’, chaired by
Dr C V Raman, explored biomethane as part of these transition pathways.
The Congress explored mechanisms to unlock blended finance, including risk-sharing instruments, guarantees, and insurance solutions. Strong emphasis was placed on developing robust standards, certification and compliance frameworks, lifecycle assessment (LCA) methodologies, and integrating biogas value chains into voluntary and compliance carbon markets. Participants also underscored the need for policy harmonization across ministries, increased public-private partnerships, and strengthened North–South and South–South cooperation to accelerate deployment at scale.

 

Key Messages

A clear call emerged to move from policy dialogue to decisive implementation of long-term policies, regulatory framework, and associated infrastructure. Delegates stressed the importance of breakthrough technologies, strengthened PPP models, women’s empowerment, green job creation, and sustained capacity-building at national and local levels.

Ensuring a reliable feedstock supply and expanding markets for digestate and fermented organic manure (FOM) were identified as critical to enhancing project bankability and long-term financial viability.

• The main recommendations endorsed by participants at the Congress included, among others, the following:
• Supporting a National Mission on Biogas
• Developing a National Biogas Roadmap
• Establishing a National Fund for Biogas
• Rolling out the #MakingBiogasHappen Programme across all key states
• Promoting Anaerobic Digestion (AD) Standards and Certification, and
• Strengthening industry engagement and building local capacity.

conclusion

Bringing the two days to a close, the WBA INDIA Congress 2025 reaffirmed that biogas is more than an energy solution; it is a transformative catalyst for sustainability, waste management, economic growth, and rural prosperity in India. The discussions signaled India’s readiness to lead globally in clean energy solutions, charting a clear path for the country’s biogas decade. Participants at the Congress noted that the building blocks for scaling up India’s biogas sector are already in place. India has ample feedstock, supporting gas infrastructure, strong industrial demand, and a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem. What is needed is a cohesive policy and regulatory framework to coordinate policy, capital, infrastructure, human skills, and markets on scale.

The key outcomes of the Congress, as endorsed by all participants, included, among others, launching the National Mission on Biogas, developing the National Biogas Roadmap, establishing the National Fund for Biogas, rolling out the #MakingBiogasHappen Programme in all states, building local communities, and promoting AD Standards and Certifications for all CBG plants in India. The Congress also focuses on decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors such as heavy industry, transport, maritime, and aviation and to explore possibilities for establishing a National Biogas Fund to provide blended financing, risk guarantees, and insurance coverage. Congress also advocated to promote public-private partnerships, north-south and south-south cooperation, alliances, and consortia.

The Congress gave a clarion call that if India is serious about becoming a global  leader in clean energy while addressing its waste and climate issues, a National Biogas Mission is now essential. It is the logical next step, and the time to act is now.

The message from New Delhi was unequivocal: if India is serious about global clean energy leadership while addressing waste, climate, and development priorities, a National Biogas Mission is no longer optional—it is imperative.

                            –Shripad Yesso Naik, Minister of State, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India

 

(L-R) Charlotte Morton OBE, Chief Executive Officer, World Biogas Association; Rajiv Kumar, Chairman, Pahle India Foundation & Former Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog; Kushan Mitra, Printer and Publisher, The Pioneer

(L-R) Dr Pradeep Monga, Senior Advisor & Policy Director, WBA; Ms Charlotte Morton OBE, Chief Executive Officer, WBA; Shripad Yesso Naik, Union Minister of State, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, and, Ministry of Power, Government of India; Prashant Tiwari, representing The Pioneer, at the WBA India Congress 2025

               Pankaj Jain, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India, addressing the WBA India Congress 2025