COMMENTARY: Study: Natural gas use drives down carbon emissions

A study from Miami University of Ohio reinforces what natural gas advocates have said for years: More natural gas energy production has led to lower U.S. carbon emissions.

The peer-reviewed study found that greenhouse gas emissions dropped 7.5 percent annually as energy companies shifted from coal to hydraulic fracturing (fracking) for natural gas. The drop was even more significant for carbon-dioxide emissions, with a yearly reduction of 10.5 percent.

“This outcome aligns with what many observers had hoped the shale gas boom would achieve,” said David Lindequist, the study’s lead author.

Energy analytics firm Wood Mackenzie said the switch to natural gas from coal reduced U.S. carbon-dioxide emissions by 65 percent from 2005 to 2019. The National Energy Technology Laboratory wrote that the emission intensity decreased by 32 percent, thanks to gas produced in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio.

Longtime industry observers say this isn’t news. Studies dating back more than a decade have shown similar results. In the past, advocates concerned about global warming embraced natural gas.

The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions noted in a 2013 report that natural gas reduced emissions by replacing coal. The following year, President Barack Obama portrayed natural gas as “the bridge fuel” to power the economy as the nation transitioned to wind and solar.

However, by the end of 2014, New York state had enacted a ban on fracking. Environmentalists were fighting to block natural gas pipelines — even when they would be used to replace coal or oil.

The Biden administration took the most aggressive actions against natural gas, imposing a “temporary pause” on liquid natural gas export terminals. In his final weeks in office, President Joe Biden banned offshore oil and gas drilling in most U.S. coastal waters.

His vice president, Kamala Harris, was a longtime supporter of a fracking ban until she replaced Biden as the Democratic nominee for president. Then she reversed her position but still lost the election — including the energy-producing state of Pennsylvania.

Republicans took a different route. During his 2024 campaign, Donald Trump endorsed natural gas production. “On day one, I will tell Pennsylvania energy workers to frack, frack, frack, and drill, drill, drill, baby, drill,” Trump said. GOP congressional representatives visited places such as the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico to promote energy development.

Energy groups say America’s allies recognize the need for more LNG to ensure reliable electricity and reduce emissions.

“As America increases our exports of LNG around the world, that LNG is displacing coal,” said David N. Taylor, the president of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association.

Natural gas has become the nation’s go-to for electric power. Energy Information Administration statistics show that 40 percent of consumers use natural gas to keep the lights on, including 32 percent of industrial facilities.

Despite the surge in natural gas usage, carbon emissions continued to fall.

Taylor argued that natural gas production should be a consensus issue for the nation, provided people evaluate it objectively.

Environmentalists such as Doug Vine with C2ES acknowledged the benefits of natural gas expansion. “It really almost wiped out the idea of building a new coal plant in the U.S., so that in itself was very helpful in terms of … turning the tide against emissions,” he said.

Whether natural gas remains a primary driver of the economy remains to be seen. Vine and Lindequist think it will be a bridge fuel helping the country transition off fossil fuels.

Taylor feels the opposite.

Natural gas “is the way that not only do we make the environment better but we also uphold our quality of life for our communities and for the citizens who live there,” he said.

Taylor Millard writes about politics and public policy for InsideSources.com.