IPCC Report Embraces More Gas and Less Coal

The Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said that technological measures and changes in behaviour are the only ways to tackle global emission of greenhouse gases, mentioning also shale gas as a viable solution. 

“Many different pathways lead to a future within the boundaries set by the two degrees Celsius goal. All of these require substantial investments. Avoiding further delays in mitigation and making use of a broad variety of technologies can limit the associated costs,” Ottmar Edenhofer from Germany said in the note. 

Cutting emissions from electricity production to near zero is the most common proposed measure, but using energy efficiency is important as well, according to the panel of experts. 

In this context, if governments want to limit the rise in average global temperatures to 2°C, the world must at least treble its use of green and low-carbon sources of power by 2050. But that does not mean that gas cannot be part of the solution. In particular, shale gas could play a role, but only if more gas means a reduced role for coal.

‘Greenhouse gas emissions from energy supply can be reduced significantly by replacing current world average coal-fired power plants with modern, highly efficient natural gas combined-cycle power plants or combined heat and power plants, provided that natural gas is available and the fugitive emissions associated with extraction and supply are low or mitigated,’ reads the IPCC report.

 The report was finalised after a six-day meeting attended by delegates from over 100 countries and a number of the Report’s expert authors.