Natural gas may be cleaner than coal, but it isn’t cleaner than nuclear or renewable energy.
Natural gas may be cleaner than coal, but it isn’t cleaner than nuclear or renewable energy.
Natural gas is a source of carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases. And natural gas is not a ‘clean-burning’ fuel on account of its pollutants.
- The life cycle greenhouse gas emissions from natural gas power plants are lower than those from coal and oil, but still significantly higher than those from hydropower, solar, wind, or nuclear.
- The largest component of natural gas is methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Any use of natural gas invariably leaks methane into the atmosphere. There is evidence that we are underestimating how much methane-containing natural gas enters the atmosphere.
- Natural gas is not a ‘clean-burning’ fuel on account of the numerous pollutants that it produces, including nitrous oxides, particulates, sulfur dioxide, and mercury. These pollutants are linked with respiratory problems.
- Building new gas power plants is a commitment to using gas well into the future, which many researchers believe can slow decarbonization.
No shit, but if you can replace coal with gas today... Do it!
You then replace gas with renewables tomorrow.
Coal emissions are hideously bad. Anything is better.
Yep, natural gas is definitely not clean. The end of natural gas has to start with its name. The oil and gas industry didn’t invent the name. But it invented the myth of a clean fuel.
If you're using a 50 year time frame, and as much methane leaks as some research suggests, natural gas actually has a higher tons of co2 equivalent per kwh than coal does.
Climate town vid https://youtu.be/K2oL4SFwkkw