With COP28 Underway, Natural Gas Still Leading America’s Success in Reducing CO2

Mark Green
Posted December 5, 2023

Natural gas continues lead the way in reducing U.S. carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from power generation, according to the federal Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) new report on energy-related CO₂ emissions – a timely report, indeed, on “Energy Day” at the COP28 climate conference in United Arab Emirates.

The role of natural gas in reducing CO₂ emissions over the past 16 years should give pause to those at COP28 and elsewhere who believe that natural gas (and oil) must be phased out to make climate progress. In the U.S., switching to natural gas to fuel electricity generation is responsible for more than 60% of CO₂ emissions reductions in the power sector since 2005.

Overall, U.S. CO₂ emissions ticked up slightly in 2022, EIA said, as the nation continued to recover from the economic effects of the pandemic, with most of the CO₂ rise resulting from increased air travel. Other points from the government report:

• The 1% increase in U.S. CO₂ emissions in 2022 was much slower than the 7% increase in 2021, EIA said. In 2022, the U.S. produced 4% less energy-related CO₂ than it did just before the pandemic in 2019.
• Changes in electricity generation sources decreased the carbon intensity of electricity by 4% last year – from 392 metric tons of CO₂ per gigawatthour (GWh) in 2021 to 376 metric tons per GWh in 2022.
• U.S. coal-related CO₂ emissions decreased by 7% last year from 2021, as a result of a near 8% decrease in coal-fired power generation. Cleaner-burning natural gas helped fill the gap.
• Between January 2021 and December 2022, American workers installed more than 17,000 megawatts of new and highly efficient natural gas-fueled generating capacity.
• Natural gas continued to be the top fuel for generating electricity in 2022, representing nearly 40% of U.S. generation (chart):

The undeniable point is the importance of natural gas in reducing U.S. CO₂ emissions.

Since 2000, the U.S. leads the world in reducing CO₂ emissions, during which time America became the world leader in natural gas and oil production.

Other energy sources are important, too, but remember that natural gas is needed to maintain grid reliability as more intermittent resources are added to the grid.

Another point: Other nations have the opportunity to replicate our template for emissions reductions by importing U.S. liquefied natural gas.

Remarkably, America’s natural gas and oil industry is producing record volumes of energy while reducing methane emissions, which are down 16% since 1990 – even though economic activity and energy use has increased over the same period.

Industry-led initiatives such as The Environmental Partnership are helping make the development, transportation, and storage of natural gas and oil cleaner. For example, the Partnership’s programs include the timely detection and repair of leaks and flare management. Participants reported a 2.4% reduction in flare intensity and a 14% reduction in total flare volumes in 2022 over 2021. That’s while U.S. natural gas and oil production increased 4% and 5.6%, respectively.

As the COP28 climate conference continues in Dubai, the natural gas story is one that should not go unnoticed.