Gilbert, Alexander Q and Sovacool, Benjamin K (2017) US Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) exports: boom or bust for the global climate? Energy, 141. pp. 1671-1680. ISSN 0360-5442

PDF - Accepted Version Download (843kB)

Abstract

Due to surging natural gas production, the United States is now a growing exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to overseas destinations. However, the potential greenhouse gas implications from increased US natural gas remain unclear. Through a hybrid lifecycle energy strategy analysis, we investigate potential greenhouse gas scenarios of US LNG exports to Asia, the largest source of global LNG demand. We find that the climate impacts of US exports to China, Japan, India, and South Korea could vary tremendously. Annual global lifecycle emissions range from -32 to +63 million metric tons CO2e per billion cubic feet (Bcf) per day of exports. Despite this range, emissions are not likely to decrease and may increase significantly due to greater global energy consumption, higher emissions in the US, and methane leakage. However, international climate obligations are a critical uncertainty underlying all emissions estimates. Our results indicate the need for further research into quantifying the climate impacts of LNG exports, and energy exports more generally.

Item Type:	Article
Schools and Departments:	School of Business, Management and Economics > SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit
Depositing User:	Nora Blascsok
Date Deposited:	29 Nov 2017 14:53
Last Modified:	20 Nov 2018 02:00
URI:	http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/71660

View download statistics for this item

📧 Request an update