![]() It projects that greater supplies of natural gas would reduce global carbon dioxide emissions by a mere 0.5 percent annually by 2035. The International Energy Agency accounts for this mixed bag of results in its Golden Rules scenario (in which the natural gas industry adheres to minimum environmental standards). However, the full climate benefit of this fuel-switching diminishes if cheaper, more readily available natural gas also undercuts efficiency and displaces the use of lower-carbon renewable and nuclear energy sources. This could produce mixed results: On the one hand, greater natural gas use could result in a slight reduction in global carbon dioxide emissions if the fuel replaces higher-carbon sources like coal and oil. Internationally, exporting LNG would contribute to an expanded natural gas market. 3) Domestic and International Energy Market Implicationsĭomestically, LNG exports would likely raise natural gas prices, resulting in the greater use of coal for U.S. natural gas systems, significantly reducing the climate advantage that natural gas has over higher-emitting fuels like oil and coal. These additional emissions more than double the total upstream GHG emissions from U.S. natural gas production’s life cycle GHG emissions (see the figure below and my testimony for more details). According to the National Energy Technology Lab’s 2012 Natural Gas Technology Assessment, liquefaction, transport, and gasification would add roughly 15 percent to U.S. This is an extremely energy- and emissions-intensive process. In order to send natural gas overseas, you must liquefy it, transport it, and then re-gasify it. 2) An Energy- and Emissions-Intensive Process The good news is that there are cost-effective strategies to reduce fugitive methane emissions, but state and federal policies will be needed to ensure that these are widely implemented. Increased production would mean increased fugitive methane, which would accelerate climate change. Exporting natural gas raises three primary concerns from a climate change perspective: 1) More Fugitive MethaneĮIA projects that exporting LNG would boost domestic production of natural gas, with roughly three-quarters of this production coming from hydraulic fracturing of shale gas. Exporting LNG may exacerbate the fugitive methane problem along with other environmental issues. The EIA projects that the United States will begin exporting LNG within the next five years, and that the country will become a net exporter by 2020. Natural Gas Exports and Greenhouse Gas Emissions ![]() There is much need- and opportunity-for reducing these emissions. iron and steel, cement, and aluminum manufacturing combined. In fact, this fugitive methane amounts to more greenhouse gas emissions than all of the direct and indirect emissions from U.S. While this may not sound like much, it contributes significantly to climate change because methane is a potent greenhouse gas-at least 25 times stronger than carbon dioxide. The estimated leakage rate for natural gas systems was only about 1.4 percent of total production in 2011, according to the most recent greenhouse gas inventory. It escapes into the air as “fugitive methane emissions” along every stage of the natural gas production process. Methane is the primary component of natural gas. ![]() In addition to habitat disruption and impacts on local air and water quality, one of the most significant implications of natural gas production is fugitive methane emissions. We’re already seeing these risks play out domestically. While burning natural gas releases half the amount of carbon dioxide as coal, producing the fuel comes with considerable environmental risks (see: here, here, and here). Environmental Impacts of Natural Gas Production I sought to emphasize a number of points that are often overlooked in this discussion in particular, fugitive methane emissions and cost-effective options for reducing them. Energy Abundance: Exports and the Changing Global Energy Landscape,” examined both the opportunities and risks presented by exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG). House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power. This is a topic I sought to address in my testimony yesterday before the U.S. But what are the climate implications of doing so? lawmakers and companies are considering exporting this resource internationally. Now-with production projected to continue growing in the decades ahead-U.S. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), production grew by 23 percent from 2007 to 2012.
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