The Globalization and Environmental Sustainability of LNG: Is LNG a Fuel for the 21st Century?

摘要

As the world enters the 21 Century, policy makers around the world are grappling with issues related to energy security, energy poverty, and an expected increase in future demand for all energy sources. At the same time, concerns about global climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions have also emerged as primary issues to be addressed as the world searches for a sustainable energy future.As a clean-burning fuel, many policy leaders have suggested that liquefied natural gas, LNG, can play an important role as the world struggles to meet growing energy demand using more environmentally sustainable fuels. Others claim that the safety and environmental impact, including life-cycle emissions of LNG, may nullify any clean-burning benefit LNG might otherwise provide.This paper analyzes whether LNG is a fuel for a sustainable energy future. Section 1 of this paper provides an overview of LNG and the historically distinct three regional gas markets.Section 2 addresses the increased globalization of the LNG markets and whether LNG could someday be traded as a global commodity.Section 3 discusses the environmental and safety concerns pertaining to LNG and how environmental opposition to LNG might impact the long-term growth of the LNG market in some markets.Section 4 discusses the role of LNG in a carbon-constrained world including a discussion of methane emission, life-cycle emissions, and comparisons of coal versus LNG.Section 5 discusses some of the ways in which the LNG industry can enhance environmental sustainability including methane mitigation and improved efficiencies in processing and transportation.Lastly, Section 6 concludes that as a clean burning fossil fuel, LNG has the potential to play a key role in a carbon-constrained energy future. The magnitude of that role, however, may vary region-by-region depending on policy objectives including energy security, environmental and safety concerns, emissions targets, and the availability of alternatives.