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(Bloomberg) – Defended by Big Oil as the fastest way to reduce emissions and despised by environmentalists who say the world must abandon all fossil fuels – the debate over natural gas could be one of the controversial aspects climate change.
The arguments will be put forward as politicians, activists and business leaders gather for Climate Week in New York. On Monday, CEOs of the world's largest oil companies are expected to speak at an event organized by the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, in which they will argue that gas is an integral part of a sober future. carbon.
Here are six key arguments about gas, starting with the case of fuel:
1. Gas kills coal
Once burned clean, the gas releases about half of the carbon compared to coal. The gas has experienced a vertiginous advance in the US energy market over the past decade.
2. Gas helps reduce emissions
Cleaner electricity generation means that the US economy can still grow and produce fewer emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions have been on a downward trend for the past decade or so.
3. Gas will be affordable in the long run
Fracking, which releases fossil fuels from shale so far impervious, the US gas is so abundant that producers can not find enough domestic demand and rush to export. This means that local prices are not expensive and they intend to stay.
And here is the case against gas:
1. Gas means that carbon is inevitable
While carbon dioxide emissions from gas-fired plants are lower than coal (see above), locking gas as fuel means that these emissions will never be zero in the foreseeable future. Indeed, as the United States becomes more and more dependent on gas, emissions of this fuel increase in absolute value, exceeding coal.
2. The gas is wasted
Excess gas from oil wells is flared, releasing carbon dioxide. The amount of gas wasted climbed in the United States because of the boom in hydraulic fracturing, as pipeline capacity could not keep pace.
3. Gas leaks
Another problem is the gas leakage of pipelines and treatment plants in the atmosphere. Methane is 84 times more effective at capturing heat than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. This is the "Achilles heel" of the gas industry, according to Susan Dio, president of the US division of BP Plc. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, global levels of methane have increased dramatically over the last 10 years. A Cornell University study published in August traced the additional emissions from fracking in North America.
To contact the reporter about this story: Kevin Crowley in Houston at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Simon Casey at [email protected]
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