Natural gas reserves/total energy consumption: a useful new ratio for addressing global climate change concerns

摘要

Energy analysts have used the reserves/production ratios for oil and natural gas for decades as indicators of the ability of countries to maintain or increase their production of those fuels. The global community is now faced the challenge of reducing carbon dioxide emissions from a variety of sources, with the energy sector being the largest contributor to the anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases. Natural gas has emerged as a highly desirable fuel, since it produces lower emissions of carbon dioxide than coal or oil for equivalent amounts of energy supplied.