A technical and legal analysis of European legislation on biogas and biomethane, from the birth of the first regulatory frameworks to the development prospects for the Green Deal and decarbonisation

by Marco Arezio

Talking about biogas and biomethane today means addressing a topic that no longer concerns only technicians or industry professionals, but directly impacts the European energy strategy and the future of sustainability. These two sources, created from the transformation of organic waste and biomass, have progressively assumed a central role in EU policies.

Their importance derives not only from their ability to replace fossil fuels with a renewable resource, but also from their social and environmental value: they generate energy while reducing waste and refuse, strengthen the autonomy of territories and stimulate a circular economy capable of giving new value to what would otherwise be wasted.

To understand the legal framework currently governing the sector, it's necessary to look back and observe the regulatory evolution the European Union has developed over the past twenty years. It's a journey of progressive stages, adjustments, new challenges, and regulatory responses that have accompanied the technological and industrial growth of this sector.

A regulatory history intertwined with sustainability

In the early 2000s, the topic of renewables was not yet as central as it is today. Directive 2001/77/EC and Directive 2003/30/EC were the first attempts to direct Member States toward greater energy diversification. These were pioneering regulations, designed to stimulate production from alternative sources and reduce the environmental impact of transportation. At the time, however, biogas and biomethane remained marginal technologies, more dependent on experimentation than structural planning.

The turning point came with Directive 2009/28/EC, which for the first time explicitly included biomethane and biogas among the essential sources for achieving binding renewable energy targets. This was a crucial step: from that moment on, Member States could no longer ignore these solutions, which began to benefit from more concrete support measures.

In the following years, attention to the issue of decarbonisation grew, leading to the approval of the Clean Energy for All Europeans legislative package (2018 . This laid the foundations for an integrated and competitive common market for renewable energy.

Around the same time, the European Commission launched the Green Deal, which tied the Union's entire energy and climate future to the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. Within this framework, RED II (Directive 2018/2001/EU) took shape, granting biomethane the status of an "advanced biofuel" and making it one of the key tools for achieving the objectives. The subsequent RED III (Directive 2023/2413/EU) further strengthened its role, raising the targets and tightening the sustainability criteria.

The actors involved in the regulatory system

The functioning of the sector cannot be explained by looking at regulations alone: we must consider who actually operates within the supply chain. Farmers are the primary players: much of Europe's biogas is derived from livestock effluents and crop byproducts. They are joined by industrial companies , which transform sewage sludge and urban organic waste into energy, thus making both an environmental and economic contribution.

Another crucial role is played by gas utilities, which must ensure the integration of purified biomethane into distribution networks, addressing complex technical issues related to gas quality and traceability. Member states, for their part, are responsible for transposing directives, establishing incentives, and monitoring the application of environmental criteria. Finally, national regulatory authorities and European agencies oversee the alignment of objectives and market transparency.

The current legal framework: certainties and challenges

Today, the legal system for biomethane is based primarily on RED II and its evolution into RED III. These directives have progressively raised standards, setting binding targets and increasingly stringent sustainability criteria. For operators, this means navigating a complex environment, where legal compliance is a prerequisite not only for accessing incentives but also for operating within the market.

Emissions throughout the entire life cycle

One of the key principles introduced by RED II concerns the assessment of greenhouse gas emissions throughout the fuel's entire life cycle. Biomethane is not considered sustainable by definition: it must demonstrate, with verifiable data, that it guarantees a significant reduction in emissions compared to fossil fuels. This involves accounting for every stage of production, from biomass cultivation to transportation, from anaerobic digestion to upgrading and compression processes, up to injection into the grid.

For plants opened after 2021, the minimum required reduction is 65%. This threshold requires producers to submit rigorous reporting based on harmonized methodologies outlined in the directive's annexes. This is a significant burden, but it also represents a guarantee of transparency and reliability for consumers and investors.

Sustainability criteria for raw materials

The criteria for raw materials are equally stringent.

The Union clearly distinguishes between conventional biofuels , produced from food crops and subject to a 7% cap in transport, and advanced biofuels , a category which includes biomethane produced from residues and waste. This distinction carries significant legal weight: Member States are required to promote advanced biofuels, using dedicated fiscal instruments and support schemes, under penalty of non-compliance with EU targets.

Certification and recognized voluntary systems

The key to market entry is sustainability certification. The European Commission recognizes specific voluntary schemes, such as ISCC EU and REDcert, which certify the traceability of the entire supply chain and ensure compliance with the criteria established by the RED. Only producers who obtain this certification can ensure their biomethane is counted toward national targets and access incentives.

Those who do not certify their production remain effectively excluded from the regulated market, without the possibility of benefiting from support measures and without official recognition in energy balance sheets.

Application challenges and differences between Member States

While the European regulatory framework is clear, its implementation is not always the case. Some countries have rapidly implemented RED II, introducing detailed national regulations and generous incentives; others have proceeded slowly or with fragmented decisions, creating market disparities. Furthermore, the lack of common technical standards for biomethane injection into the grid hinders the free flow of energy within the Union.

These discrepancies raise sensitive legal issues, particularly those relating to the principle of mutual recognition, which could lead to litigation before the Court of Justice of the EU in the future.

Interaction with other regulatory instruments

The biomethane regulation is intertwined with other European regulations that amplify its effects. Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 on the Governance of the Energy Union requires Member States to include biomethane in their National Energy and Climate Plans. Regulation (EU) 2020/852 – the so-called green taxonomy – establishes the criteria for classifying economic activities as sustainable, guiding investments. Finally, State aid legislation requires the provision of incentives to comply with internal competition rules, limiting the risk of distortions between countries.

The result is a complex legal mosaic , in which operators must navigate environmental obligations, tax opportunities and market conditions.

Towards a more binding framework

With the entry into force of RED III, the regulatory framework becomes even more stringent. The EU has set the minimum share of renewables at 42.5% by 2030, with the possibility of increasing to 45%. For biomethane, this means that certification will no longer be just a requirement for obtaining incentives, but a mandatory step for any production and grid injection activity.

The sector will therefore find itself operating in a context in which it will no longer be enough to "choose" sustainability, but it will be necessary to demonstrate compliance with increasingly detailed rules and increasingly stringent controls.

Expected changes and future prospects

Future prospects move along three main lines:

The first is increased production: with the REPowerEU plan, the Commission has set the goal of reaching 35 billion cubic meters of biomethane by 2030. This is an ambitious figure, which will require massive investments and, above all, a stable and clear regulatory framework.

The second area concerns integration into networks: it will be necessary to establish common technical standards and guarantee of origin systems valid throughout the Union, to allow the real circulation of biomethane in the internal market.

The third concerns sectoral decarbonisation rules: in the sectors that are most difficult to electrify – such as heavy-duty transport and energy-intensive industry – biomethane will become not only a sustainable option, but a regulatory requirement.

A vision beyond the norm

Looking beyond the text of the directives, the value of biomethane lies in its social and cultural significance. It bridges the gap between agriculture, waste management, and energy security. It offers regions the opportunity to reduce dependence on imports, reuse waste, and strengthen local resilience.

The challenge for the coming years will not only be to comply with legal obligations, but also to build a supply chain that combines economic profitability, technological innovation, and environmental responsibility. In this sense, biomethane is not simply an alternative fuel, but a silent and crucial player in the European energy transition.

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