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6 - Methane and Climate Change

from Part II - Environmental Analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2022

By
Robert W. Howarth
Edited by
John Stolz ,
Daniel Bain  and
Michael Griffin
John Stolz
Affiliation:
Duquesne University, Pittsburgh
Daniel Bain
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh
Michael Griffin
Affiliation:
Carnegie Mellon University, Pennsylvania
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Summary

The first peer-reviewed analysis of how methane emissions affect the greenhouse gas footprint of shale gas was published by my colleagues and I in 2011. We suggested that methane emissions from shale gas, as well as from conventional natural gas, were probably great enough to completely offset any climate advantage that might accrue from reducing carbon dioxide emissions from a switch from coal to natural gas. The paper has stimulated further investigation in the subsequent nine years, with a growing number of research papers on this topic, as reviewed here. The initial conclusion that methane emissions from both shale gas and conventional natural gas make these very poor bridge fuels continues to hold true. The greenhouse gas footprint of shale gas is worse than that of coal, when methane emissions are considered and compared to carbon dioxide over an integrated 20-year time period after emission. Increased emissions from shale gas production in North America alone have probably caused roughly 40% of total global increase in atmospheric methane from all sources. Unless methane emissions can be drastically reduced, shale gas is not a viable option in a climate-smart future.

Keywords

IPCCCOP21carbon-13shale gas
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Chapter
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Environmental Impacts from the Development of Unconventional Oil and Gas Reserves , pp. 132 - 149
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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