Boom in gas use to push world over 2°C target

Adelaide Advertiser
17 June 2011, Page: 72

THE International Energy Agency has warned that an expected boom in the use of gas for global energy needs would make it impossible for the world to meet current commitments to hold global warming to 2°C. Countries, including Australia, have committed to hold warming to 2°C as it is seen as the threshold beyond which climate impacts are likely to be irreversible and devastating.

In Australia, state and federal governments, as well as the gas industry, have been promoting coal seam gas projects planned for Queensland and New South Wales as a crucial part of tackling climate change as gas fired power stations emit less CO₂, than coal fired ones.

In a special report on gas demand out to 2035, the International Energy Agency said indications were that rising use of natural and unconventional gas such as shale oil and coal seam gas would push annual greenhouse gas emissions to levels that would produce a global average temperature rise of more than 3.5°C.

The IEA report said supply and demand factors pointed to gas accounting for more than 25% of global energy demand by 2035. IEA executive director Nobuo Tanaka said: "While natural gas is the 'cleanest' fossil fuel, it is still a fossil fuel. An expansion of gas use alone is no panacea for climate change".

Mr Tanaka said that to stay on a path to hold warming to 2°C, the gas boom would have to be accompanied by a rollout of as yet unproven technology to catch and permanently store CO₂, emissions from gas fired power stations in sites deep underground or beneath the sea.

There would also have to be big increases in energy efficiency, but he warned there was a risk the gas boom could steal investment from low carbon energy sources such as solar and wind.

The IEA also said the production outlook of unconventional gas resources, such as coal seam gas, "is uncertain as the use of hydraulic fracturing to produce unconventional gas has raised environmental concerns and tested existing regulatory regimes". It said adhering to best practices in production "can mitigate potential environmental risks, such as excessive water use, contamination and disposal".

But the IEA said unconventional gas produces more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional gas.