Imported LNG is said to be much more harmful to the climate than coal
Germany is relying on liquid natural gas (LNG) to bridge the energy crisis. Now a study wants to show that LNG is far more harmful to the climate than burning coal. “In the worst case scenario, greenhouse gas emissions from LNG are 274 percent higher than those from coal,” it says.
EAccording to a new US study, it is much more harmful to the climate to generate energy from imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) than to burn conventional coal. “The worst-case absolute greenhouse gas emissions from LNG are 274 percent higher than those from coal,” says the yet-to-be-published analysis by Cornall University methane researcher Robert W. Howarth. The “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” (NOZ) first reported. The whole study is here freely visible.
Howarth identified methane leaks in the supply chain as the cause. This includes the various stages from fracking to cleaning, liquefaction and finally transport across the world’s oceans. Methane is a particularly aggressive greenhouse gas. Even when using the most modern ships and the shortest routes, emissions are “at least 24 percent higher” than if hard coal were used, according to the results of calculations by the professor of environmental biology. At least when you look at the entire path from the fracking hole to the combustion to generate electricity or heat.
Howarth’s study has not yet been cross-checked. The US magazine “The Newyorker” already sees the scientist’s figures as evidence (“smoking gun”) of US President Joe Biden’s misguided climate policy. In the USA, LNG export capacities are being significantly expanded, also due to high demand from Germany, which runs counter to the US government’s climate protection goals.
The German Environmental Aid (DUH) sees the research results as increasing the pressure on the Federal Government and the European Union to act. In a few days, stricter rules for methane emissions from the oil and gas industry will be voted on in Brussels.