Utilities’ Zero-Carbon Pledges Ignore Natural Gas Operations

摘要

One after another, U.S. utilities are making sweeping pledges to fight climate change by eliminatingemissions.Just don’t look at their natural gas operations.The goals by Duke Energy Corp., Xcel Energy Inc. and others to phase out carbon emissions by 2050 applyonly to the companies’ electricity generation businesses -- not the gas they supply to millions of homesand businesses. The reason, they say, is there aren’t easy low-cost alternatives for heating, cooking andmanufacturing.