Natural gas is a fossil fuel, although its global warming emissions are substantially lower than those from coal or oil combustion. When combusted in a modern, efficient natural gas power plant, natural gas produces 50 to 60 percent less carbon dioxide (CO2) than emissions from a typical new coal plant [1].
Coal or natural gas produce more carbon dioxide.
To create the same amount of electricity, natural gas emits about half as much CO2 as coal. It also produces a lot less pollution that is harmful to human health. Natural gas from the country’s fracking sector has contributed to a significant drop in the usage of coal to generate energy in the United States.
When natural gas is consumed, does it produce more CO2 than coal?
When natural gas is burned for energy, it produces fewer air pollutants and carbon dioxide (CO2) than when coal or petroleum products are burned to produce the same amount of energy. Natural gas emits about 117 pounds of CO2 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), compared to more than 200 pounds per MMBtu from coal and more than 160 pounds per MMBtu from distillate fuel oil. Natural gas’s clean-burning attributes have contributed to greater natural gas use in the United States for electricity generation and as a transportation fuel for fleet cars.
Why does natural gas emit fewer CO2 emissions than coal?
In relation to the energy they create when burned, different fuels emit varied amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2). Compare the quantity of CO2 emitted per unit of energy output or heat content to compare emissions across fuels. CO2 emissions coefficients per unit of volume or mass and per million British thermal units are published by the US Energy Information Administration.
When a fuel is burned, the amount of CO2 created is a function of the carbon content of the fuel. The carbon (C) and hydrogen (H) content of a fuel determine its heat content, or the quantity of energy released when it is burned. When carbon (C) and hydrogen (H) combine with oxygen (O) during combustion, heat is created. Natural gas is mostly composed of methane (CH4), which has a larger energy content than other fuels and consequently a lower CO2-to-energy ratio. Water and different components in some fuels, such as sulfur and noncombustible elements, lower their heating values and raise their CO2-to-heat content.
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What are the emissions factors for greenhouse gases and air pollutants for fuels and electricity?
Other FAQs about Environment
- What is the difference between short and metric tons?
- Is ozone classified as a greenhouse gas?
- How much of the carbon dioxide produced in the United States is due to power generation?
- What are the United States’ and the world’s energy-related carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels?
- What exactly are greenhouse gases, and how do they effect the environment?
- Why are carbon dioxide emissions heavier than the fuel they replaced?
- Does the EIA provide state-by-state estimates or projections for energy output, consumption, and prices?
- When different fuels are burned, how much carbon dioxide is produced?
- How much CO2 is produced per kilowatthour of electricity generated in the United States?
- How much carbon dioxide is created by gasoline and diesel fuel consumption in the United States?
- What are the sources and sectors of carbon dioxide emissions in the US energy sector?
How much CO2 does coal emit in comparison to natural gas?
The EPA’s Emissions and Generation Resource Integrated Database (eGRID), which was released in 2018 with 2016 data, shows that natural gas units emit 898 pounds CO2 per megawatt-hour (MWh), while coal units emit 2,180 pounds CO2 per MWh at the national level.
Is natural gas a carbon dioxide producer?
- Natural gas is used in all economic areas.
- Natural gas combustion generates half the carbon dioxide of coal and 30% less than oil, as well as significantly less pollutants, per unit of energy delivered.
- Natural gas usage in the United States has climbed by about 41%, or 9 trillion cubic feet, since 2005. (Tcf). Nearly 90% of the increase is due to increased consumption of electric power (up 60%) and industrial sector use (up 28%).
- Natural gas is the most common fuel used to generate electricity in the United States. Its substitute for coal has aided in lowering power sector emissions to levels seen in the mid-1980s.
- However, emissions from natural gas burning (in all sectors) have increased by about 43%, or 505 million metric tons, since 2005.
- The United States is the world’s largest natural gas producer, exporting 1.8 Tcf of LNG in 2019, which can assist reduce or eliminate coal-based power generation in other regions of the world.
- To fully exploit natural gas’s potential climatic advantages, technology and regulations to reduce methane leakage from natural gas extraction, gathering and processing, transmission and distribution, and LNG shipping must be implemented.
- Furthermore, natural gas facilities (both new and existing) will need to deploy carbon capture, utilization, and storage capabilities (or related sequestration-based offsets) by a particular date in order to meet mid-century net-zero climate goals.
Which form of energy produces the most carbon dioxide?
We already know that the world’s carbon budget is depleting at an alarming rate, but a new scientific assessment exposes just how grim the global carbon cycle really is.
According to the Global Carbon Project’s (GCP) 2013 study, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from burning fossil fuels and making cement have reached their greatest level in human history at precisely the time when emissions reductions are most needed.
The GCP is a collaborative effort between the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme, the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change, the World Climate Research Programme, and Diversitas, with all datasets and modeling output described in peer-reviewed journals. The following are some of the highlights from the GCP summary:
What are the current global CO2 emissions levels and concentrations?
CO2 emissions related with burning fossil fuels and making cement increased by 2.1 percent in 2012, with a similar increase projected in 2013.
CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels and manufacturing cement increased by 58 percent in 2012, compared to 1990 levels.
In 2012, the average global CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere were 392.5 parts per million (ppm). This is the most concentrated population in at least 800,000 years. Global atmospheric CO2 concentrations briefly exceeded 400 ppm earlier this year, but this was not mentioned in the GCP report.
In 2012, around 9.7 billion tonnes of carbon were released into the atmosphere as a result of burning fossil fuels and making cement. This is the same amount of carbon dioxide emitted by almost 10,000 coal-fired power units.
Between 1870 and 2013, approximately 390 billion tonnes of carbon were discharged into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels and making cement.
Between 1870 and 2013, approximately 160 billion tonnes of carbon were emitted into the atmosphere as a result of land use change (e.g. deforestation).
Between 1870 and 2013, all human activities emitted approximately 550 billion tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere, with fossil fuels and cement accounting for more than two-thirds of all carbon emissions.
What fuels and sectors are creating the world’s emissions?
During the period 2003-2012, the average share of total CO2 emissions caused by human activities that were connected with deforestation and other land use changes was 8%. In fact, according to a new scientific study, the world loses the equivalent of 50 soccer fields of forest every minute of every day.
Oil accounted for 33% of all CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement production in 2012.
Coal accounted for 43 percent of total CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement production in 2012. Despite producing the greatest CO2 emissions of any fossil fuel, coal continues to be the world’s primary energy source.
Who is generating the world’s emissions?
In 2012, India’s per capita carbon emissions were 0.5 tonnes. In 2012, India accounted for 6% of world CO2 emissions from fossil fuels, and its emissions climbed 7.7% over 2011.
Carbon emissions per capita in China in 2012 were 1.9 tonnes. In 2012, China was responsible for 27% of worldwide CO2 emissions from fossil fuels, up 5.9% from 2011.
Carbon emissions per capita in the European Union in 2012 were 1.9 tonnes. In 2012, the EU accounted for 10% of worldwide CO2 emissions from fossil fuels, with emissions down 1.3 percent from 2011.
Carbon emissions per capita in the United States in 2012 were 4.4 tonnes. In 2012, the United States accounted for 14 percent of world CO2 emissions from fossil fuels, a drop of 3.7 percent from 2011.
How much global warming can these emissions cause?
While each of the figures in GCP’s 2013 report is significant in its own way, one in particular stands out: By 2100, the world will have warmed by 3.2-5.4 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels due to our cumulative carbon dioxide emissions. We fear increasingly deadly levels of forest fires, coral bleaching, sea level rise, and other significant impacts with each degree of temperature rise.
According to a recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), if we continue on our current carbon-intensive path, we will exhaust our carbon budget in around 30 years. Once again, we’re reminded that the window for reducing emissions is rapidly closing. It serves as a timely reminder of the high stakes for international negotiators at COP 19.
- GET MORE INFORMATION: Unrestricted coal use will break the world’s “carbon budget,” according to a WRI blog post.
Is it true that coal is more harmful than gas?
Both Republicans and Democrats are proposing modifications to the so-called energy independence measure that would heavily subsidize the coal sector in order to generate liquid coal as a substitute for foreign oil. (The original measure, which is well-intentioned, aims to improve fuel efficiency in vehicles and light trucks, promote biofuel production, and provide funding for the development of technologies to collect carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.)
Senator Jeff Bingaman, a Democrat from New Mexico, resisted large coal-based fuel subsidies until mid-June, when he sought to grant up to $10 billion in loans for coal-to-liquid projects. Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, who represents a coal-rich state, quickly altered his support for subsidizing coal-derived gasoline production to focus on another bill he was sponsoring to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and carbon content in transportation fuel.
Bingaman’s and Obama’s shifting attitudes highlight the conflict between efforts to lessen reliance on foreign energy while still slowing global warming. When coal is transformed into transportation fuel, liquid coal is generated, which does little to slow climate change and is twice as hazardous as gasoline in terms of creating greenhouse gases that blanket the earth and cause warming.
Liquid coal can power regular diesel automobiles and trucks, as well as jet engines and ships, thanks to well-established conversion technology (the Germans utilized it during WWII). Executives in the coal sector believe that if oil prices rise to $50 a barrel or more, coal will be able to compete with gasoline. However, liquid coal has significant environmental and economic drawbacks. On the environmental front, coal’s polluting properties, which begin with mining and continue long after it is burned, combined with the large amount of energy required to liquefy it, result in liquid coal emitting more than twice the global warming emissions of regular gasoline and nearly double those of regular diesel. Driving a Prius on liquid coal is as dirty as driving a Hummer on conventional fuel, according to pundits.
Only two barrels of fuel are produced from one ton of coal. In addition to the carbon dioxide released during the use of the fuel, the manufacturing process produces about a ton of carbon dioxide for every barrel of liquid fuel. To put it another way, one ton of coal produces more than two tons of carbon dioxide. Proponents of coal-to-liquid facilities in Congress and the industry claim that the same technologies that could one day capture and store emissions from coal-fired plants will be available to coal-to-liquid plants. Even if the carbon produced during production could be caught and sequestered (a technology that has yet to be verified on a large scale), According to some research, liquid coal would still emit 4 to 8% more global warming emissions than ordinary gasoline.
Liquid coal is likewise a poor investment. Legislators from coal-producing states are proposing that taxpayers guarantee billions of dollars in production plant construction loans, set minimum prices for the new fuel, and guarantee large government purchases for the next 25 years. Coal-based fuels, they argue, are more American than gasoline. However, there are no operational coal-to-liquid plants in the United States, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers estimate that building enough units to replace 10% of American gasoline consumption will cost $70 billion. Some energy experts are concerned that the size of the incentives would lead to a replay of the failed attempt to fund a synthetic fuels sector 30 years ago.
To lock in a technology that creates more greenhouse gases than gasoline, the country would invest billions in loans, tax incentives, and price guarantees. This is unacceptable at a time when prominent scientists from around the world are warning that greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by at least 60% over the next half-century if the worst effects of global warming are to be avoided. Rather of paying billions to subsidize a massively polluting business, we should invest in efficiency and renewable energy technology that can help us limit global warming now.
What distinguishes natural gas from coal?
What distinguishes natural gas from coal? Coal is a fossil fuel, but natural gas is a renewable resource. Coal is extracted from coal beds, and natural gas is a type of petroleum. Volcanic gas is released by volcanoes, and coal is a type of petroleum.
Why do people prefer natural gas to coal?
Title:
‘And as the world consumes more energy,’ a globe with cartoon lightning bolts in the background says.
As hands enter the picture from the bottom, the phrase ‘we need to offer electricity’ appears.
‘that is available and environmentally sustainable’ appears in the center of the page, surrounded by pipes, plants, and blue flames.
When the phrase ‘producing one-tenth of the air pollutants as coal when burned to generate energy’ is displayed, a lightbulb is added to the end of the phrase.
On a natural gas facility, the word ‘natural gas’ is displayed down the side of cooling towers against a background of syk and trees, with pipelines at the bottom.
On the right, the text ‘to our cities and towns’ is displayed. In the background, buildings and residences rise up.
‘in conjunction with natural gas’
‘Nearly global reach’ appears above an ocean with floating LNG tankers. On the side of the main, largest tanker, it says ‘Natural Gas.’
‘Ensures that natural gas’ appears against a backdrop of pipelines, with a modest map of the United States ‘Gas’ accompanied by a blue flame.
‘Can play a crucial role in the energy mix,’ displays a picture of a Key with the word ‘Key’ written over it.
‘It doesn’t matter where you reside.’ The shot pulls back to reveal a globe covered in pipes. The phrases appear on the globe, which is surrounded by LNG tankers.
Over a blue sky and grassy landscape, the message ‘Renewable energy is critical to our future’ appears. To the right, solar panels and a bright sun, while to the left, wind turbines.
The words ‘when the wind blows and the sun shines’ are written in the center of the screen. The wind turbines cease whirling when a cloud passes in front of the sun.
‘Natural gas can keep our lives’ displays, Gas with a blue flame, and ‘our lives’ with hands on both sides.
The word ‘powered reliably’ is shown with a blue gas flame above it and arrows circling it.