Natural Gas & The Low-Carbon Economy


The IEA’s 2009 World Energy Outlook estimates that global


coal bed and shale gas production, which at 13 tcf in 2007 contributed 12% of worldwide natural gas supplies, will rise to 22 tcf in 2030, or 15% of global supplies, with most of the predicted growth coming from North America. These estimates now appear conservative. Knowledge of international unconventional resources is extremely limited in most countries, and more research will be required to quantify the location and volume of available supplies. In many developing countries, even modest new supplies


of natural gas could significantly reduce dependence on imported oil and gas, providing more energy security and improving the balance of trade. In addition, early evidence suggests that some of the world’s most coal-dependent countries, including China, India, and South Africa, may have extensive natural gas resources that could contribute to reduced GHG emissions. As recently as 2007, natural gas provided only 8% of power generation in India and 1% in China, suggesting a large potential for expansion. In New Delhi, the municipal government has required that most small two-wheelers be fuelled with natural gas in order to reduce air pollution, and the city recently announced plans to replace its coal-fired power plants with natural gas. The US and China have already begun to collaborate on unconventional gas resources. On November 17, 2009, Presidents Barack Obama and Hu Jintao announced the launch of the US-China Shale Gas Resource Initiative. Through this programme, Chinese experts will be able to benefit from US expertise in shale gas science and technology to assess and develop Chinese shale gas resources. Similar collaborative initiatives could speed the development of unconventional gas in other parts of the world.


Unlocking Potential For decades, natural gas has been a neglected element of the


US energy portfolio. In policy deliberations, natural gas has been linked closely to oil and sometimes to coal. The distinction between gas and the other fossil fuels is often blurred, as is its potential to accelerate the transition to low-carbon energy. Together with renewable energy and energy efficiency, natural


gas could transform the energy economy over the next few decades, drastically reducing climate pollution and lowering dependence on imported oil. Natural gas lends itself to a range of high-efficiency applications, and it can provide the flexible backup power that will allow high levels of reliance on wind


worldPower 2010


and solar power even before economical storage technologies are developed. Moreover, in the future, fossil natural gas could be supplemented by renewable methane gas that is extracted from landfills, feedlots, and other biological sources. Unfortunately, the logical alliance between natural gas and


... an innovative and strategic partnership


between the gas, renewables, and efficiency industries – and the environmental community – is needed


the clean energy community has been strained in recent years as both grew rapidly at a time when electricity demand was falling. The growth of wind power in Texas, for example, has led to charges by natural gas generators that wind farms are getting preferential treatment from state regulators. At the same time, the environmental controversies being stirred up by the questionable practices of some shale gas developers have exacerbated mistrust in local communities and led some environmental groups to oppose additional gas development. Unless these tensions can be resolved and effective clean energy alliances are created, the potential for natural gas to


contribute to a low-carbon economy will never be realised. To reach that potential, building new policy frameworks will


be essential. And for that to occur, an innovative and strategic partnership between the gas, renewables, and efficiency industries – and the environmental community – is needed. For environmentalists, gas can broaden the range of tools available to reduce carbon emissions and bring a strong industry to the alliance that supports climate legislation. And for the gas industry, allying itself with those who are working to build a low-carbon economy will facilitate a policy environment in which gas plays a growing role even as the US gradually reduces its dependence on oil and coal. Important policy changes (BOX 1) will be needed to achieve these goals. ■


Christopher Flavin is President and Saya Kitasei, MAP Sustainable Energy Research Fellow at the Worldwatch Institute, a global think tank based in Washington D.C. focusing on the 21st


resource degradation, population growth, and human


nutrition by developing and disseminating solid data and innovative strategies for achieving a sustainable society. E: cflavin@worldwatch.org


© The Worldwatch Institute This is the first in a series of briefing papers that the Worldwatch


Institute Natural Gas and Sustainable Energy Initiative will produce on critical environmental and policy issues surrounding natural gas.


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century challenges of climate change,


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