Natural Gas Is Not A Valid Bridge Fuel — Whatever The Industry Says

Quick question: What's the first thing that comes to mind when I say the words “bridge fuel” or “transition fuel”?

Is it natural gas?

The idea that natural gas is cleaner than oil or other fossil fuels has been around for a while now. It's common ground for many politicians. This article mentions Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Ernest Moniz, but there are many others. Indeed, it has become ingrained in our culture that natural gas is our bridge to a renewable future.

But is natural gas really cleaner than oil? And if it's not, why do people think it is?

Natural gas does indeed produce much less CO2 than oil or coal, and that's the angle the industry and politicians have been promoting for years. However, the methane emissions associated to natural gas are much higher. And methane is a much more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

Its climate impact goes through the roof, revealing a fuel source roughly equal in total emissions to other fossil fuel sources.

Extraction of natural gas is also more damaging to the climate and the environment. Hydraulic fracturing or fracking is one the main techniques, and it supposes not only greenhouse gas emissions, but also water and soil pollution and even small earthquakes.

All together, it seems pretty clear that, although burning natural gas releases less CO2, it's not the magic bullet they would have us believe. It's not a valid bridge.

However, what I found really interesting is the PR focus of this article. How can we work though the spin and the misinformation that the industry introduces in the public debate? In the Netherlands, the authorities have found a straightforward solution: Ban their ads.

Can we do the same?

“They want us to believe that gas is clean and they support the transition to renewable energy. Behind the screens we see how the same companies lobby against this transition. To prevent catastrophic climate change we need to end the dependency on all fossil fuels — including gas.”