A new study has found that in one year, US LNG exports have saved 112m tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions compared to the alternative fuels that would have replaced these.
The results emerge as the environmental lobby group Say No to LNG’s global shipping campaign launches a new pledge and urges industry leaders to sign up and commit to end the use of LNG and other methane-based fuels.
Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future (NACEF) and the Partnership to Address Global Emissions (PAGE) have produced a study on the lifecycle of greenhouse gas emissions from US LNG exports and how they compare to alternative fuels.
The two bodies said it showed that US LNG exports are likely to have represented a net reduction in the world’s greenhouse gas emissions compared to the mix of alternative fuels — primarily coal and oil — that would have likely substituted for the LNG exports had they hypothetically not existed in 2022.
It also compared its results to other studies, including the one cited as the basis for the Biden Administration’s pause on approving new LNG developments.
The study found that without US LNG exports, that energy would be replaced by 54% coal, 34% fuel oil, 16% domestic gas and 8% renewable sources.
“The total increase in world GHG emissions in the absence of US LNG in 2022 would have been 112 million metric tons,” it said.
However, the study did not project emissions associated with future fuel use or fuel mixes or what changes to greenhouse gas emissions could be achieved by government policies in the countries that import US LNG.
PAGE executive director Chris Treanor said: “This study underscores the fact that natural gas is a cleaner alternative to coal and must remain a solution to achieving our climate and energy security goals.”
Today, the Say No to LNG group launched its “Beyond Methane Pledge”, which it describes as “an ambitious initiative” designed to halt the expansion of LNG activities and plans immediately, or by 2025 at the latest, and phase out LNG and methane-based fuels altogether by 2030.
The pledge also commits signatories to “promote transparency” on the climate impact of methane and the full lifecycle emissions of LNG and other methane-based fuels.
The group said its new campaign is backed by seven “key civil society organisations”. These include Stand.earth, Opportunity Green, the Clean Arctic Alliance, Transport and the Environment, NABU, Clean Shipping Coalition and Ports, and Pacific Environment.
It asks industry leaders including shipowners, cargo owners, ports, cities, policymakers, energy producers, suppliers, utilities, transporters and financial institutions to take the pledge.
The lobby body said: “LNG, and other methane-based fuels such as bio-methane and e-methane, are primarily composed of methane — an extremely powerful greenhouse gas with 80 times more global warming potential than carbon dioxide in the short term.”
It claims methane poses significant risks to climate, the environment and public health.
“LNG is not a bridge fuel; it’s a bridge to climate disaster,” the group said.
“LNG is also a poor investment,” it added, claiming that LNG infrastructure will become costly stranded assets for taxpayers and investors, locking people into a fossil fuel future and taking cash away from investments in lower cost zero-emission fuels.
