Biomethane Action Plan 2024-2040

As a result of the impact on society of the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic and the geopolitical events in Ukraine, and in order to minimise it, the European Union has ordered member states to introduce a chapter on the recent plan to reduce dependence on Russian gas and oil (REPowerEU) in their national recovery and resilience plans, promoting socio-economic cohesion. In this context, it was analysed that, according to REPowerEU, biomethane could replace up to 10% of the fossil natural gas consumed in EU by 2030. At national level, the industry associated with these gases is at an early stage, being essential an integrated strategy to promote its development. For this reason, Portugal has presented a set of investments and reforms under this REPowerEU chapter, with the aim of supporting its ambitions in terms of energy independence and ecological transition.
To promote the increased use of renewable gases in the country's decarbonisation process, with a special focus on industry and the transport sector, while promoting the circular economy and the recovery of waste, Portugal has approved a reform dedicated to promoting the production and consumption of sustainable biomethane, creating the necessary conditions for the development of a biomethane economy in Portugal.
The adoption of the Biomethane Action Plan 2024-2040 ("BAP"), approved by Council of Ministers Resolution no. 41/2024 published on 15th March, is one of the measures contemplated by the reform, and it is a step further in establishing commitments to guarantee the energy transition as a lever of competitiveness and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Portugal, all with a view to establishing the strategy for the development of this renewable gas in the country. 
More specifically, BAP has a strategic vision of promoting the biomethane market in a sustainable way, decarbonising the national economy, reducing imports of natural gas used in the industrial and domestic sectors, including its use in mobility, and taking full advantage of the endogenous resources that exist in various sectors.