The Rest of the Story on Natural Gas, LNG Export Climate Benefits

Mark Green
Posted November 20, 2023

Mark Twain was right. “Get your facts first,” the American author, humorist and philosopher once said, “then you can distort them as much as you please.”

A recent Reuters report had many facts on U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports and the carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions associated with them, yet omitted key points that could leave readers with an incomplete and distorted view of the value of American LNG.

We won’t say Reuters intended to leave a distorted impression of LNG exports. Yet, the article fits right in with recent efforts to undermine the climate good that U.S. natural gas and LNG exports are doing in this country and around the world.

Here’s how Reuters played it, starting with a provocative headline:

Followed by a couple of paragraphs suggesting an issue with LNG exports:

The impression is that U.S. natural gas – via exported LNG – instead of advancing climate progress, is working against it. Also, that as more U.S. LNG exports come online, things will worsen. But there’s very important context that wasn’t included in the article – context that was pointed out to the author days before the article was published:

The emissions intensity of American LNG exports has decreased, even as total volumes increased significantly – with a lot of that LNG helping European allies who were cut off from Russian natural gas when they opposed the invasion of Ukraine.

So, why is “emissions intensity” important?

First, know that U.S. LNG production increased 112% from 2019-2022, reflecting high energy demand. The climate effect is best measured by emissions intensity of U.S. LNG facilities – emissions per unit of production – which decreased 15%. Specifically, CO₂ emissions generated from the export of 1.0 billion cubic feet of LNG decreased from 0.00533 metric tons (MT) in 2019 to 0.00455 MT in 2022, a decline of 14.59% (U.S. Energy Information Administration and EPA data).

That’s a significant production surge, which the world has needed, yet it has been accompanied by reduced emissions per unit of production – reflecting industry technologies and innovations aimed at environmental progress: high-efficiency natural gas turbines, electrification of the process to turn natural gas to its liquid form for long-distance transportation, waste heat recovery, leak detection and repair programs, and more.

We think readers might want to know these facts. Without this information, instead of viewing natural gas and LNG exports as valuable tools in building a lower carbon future, readers might turn against them – which would be a setback for society’s shared climate goals.

Remember, emissions from LNG exports are not additional, global emissions, because the LNG often is displacing dirtier, higher-emitting sources such as coal. And that’s a good thing. Overall, U.S. LNG is helping shift emissions lower than they would be otherwise.

This, in fact, has happened in U.S. power generation, with power plants switching to natural gas from coal. Natural gas, the leading fuel for U.S. electricity generation, accounted for more than 60% of the CO₂ reductions from that sector from 2006-2021 (most recent data), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Bottom line: Do better, Reuters. Natural gas has been pivotal in reducing CO₂ emissions from the U.S. power sector, and American LNG can help other nations replicate that progress.

Dustin Meyer, API senior vice president of Policy, Economics and Regulatory Affairs:

“At a time of acute geopolitical turmoil, the U.S. is exporting record levels of LNG to meet global energy needs while simultaneously reducing emissions intensity thanks to constant innovation and greater operational efficiency. It's clear that U.S. LNG plays a vital role in bolstering the energy security of our allies around the world while supporting global climate goals.”