The climate risks of natural gas

The document examines the risks of relying on natural gas for US electricity, noting that while it burns cleaner than coal, its expected replacement of nuclear power and its role in meeting rising electricity demand would prevent necessary emission cuts. It highlights that methane leaks from production and transport further erode climate benefits, and suggests that a transition to 80% renewable energy by 2050 is a viable, more cost-effective alternative.

• A natural gas-dominated electricity system is unlikely to reduce carbon emissions sufficiently because natural gas is projected to replace not only coal but also low-carbon nuclear power, while overall electricity demand is expected to grow from 4,054 Terrawatt-hours in 2012 to 5,222 Terrawatt-hours by 2050.
• To mitigate the worst effects of climate change, the National Research Council (NRC) suggests a carbon budget requiring a 90 percent reduction in U.S. power sector carbon emissions by 2050.
• Methane leakage from pipelines and drilling sites poses a significant climate risk, as methane is 34 times more potent than carbon dioxide. It is estimated that 1% to 9% of produced natural gas escapes into the atmosphere, which is equivalent to the emissions of 35 to 314 coal power plants of 600 megawatts each.
• Analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) indicates that relying on energy efficiency and renewables is more cost-effective for reducing emissions than scenarios relying heavily on nuclear power or carbon capture and storage (CCS). Furthermore, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory found that current renewable technologies could reliably and affordably provide 80% of U.S. electricity by 2050.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2014). The climate risks of natural gas. https://www.ucs.org/resources/climate-risks-natural-gas

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. The climate risks of natural gas. 2014. https://www.ucs.org/resources/climate-risks-natural-gas.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=The climate risks of natural gas |date=3 February 2014 |url=https://www.ucs.org/resources/climate-risks-natural-gas |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2014climate, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{The climate risks of natural gas}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2014}, month = feb, url = {https://www.ucs.org/resources/climate-risks-natural-gas}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }