Biogas Technology : An Effective Strategy for Mitigating Climate Change

Energy access and availability are fundamental for individual consumers’ quality of life, economic growth, and employment opportunities. Increased energy supply and consumption lead to improved economic development and higher living standards.1 The human development index of a country is directly proportional to its energy prosperity.2 A shortage in the energy supply is a barrier to the development, economic growth, and prosperity of a country and adversely affects its environment, water availability, agricultural productivity, and human health.3 However, the increasing consumption of nonrenewable fossil fuels also negatively affects a country’s development because of exposure of its population to the adverse impacts of climate change. According to the International Energy Agency, the per capita electricity consumption in developed countries is markedly higher than that in other countries, resulting in the release of greater amounts of greenhouse gases such as methane, carbon dioxide, and sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere. This, in turn, results in environmental problems such as air pollution, deforestation, global warming, and climate change and also inflicts several respiratory diseases.4