From Land to Sea: the Myth of LNG
From extraction to its final destination, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) impacts people, nature, and the climate. Menezes and Lem debunk the myth that LNG is the solution the shipping industry needs to decarbonize and reduce its climate footprint. If using LNG at sea creates more issues on land, is this really a solution?
“Liquefied Natural Gas: The 21st Century Myth of Green Fossil Fuel for the Shipping Industry” was first published in the December 2022 issue of EM Magazine, a copyrighted publication of the Air & Waste Management Association (A&WMA).
Authors: Elissama Menezes, Global Campaign Director, Say No To LNG, and Dr. Melissa Lem, President, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE)
From extraction to its final destination, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) impacts people, nature, and the climate. Menezes and Lem debunk the myth that LNG is the solution the shipping industry needs to decarbonize and reduce its climate footprint. If using LNG at sea creates more issues on land, is this really a solution?
“From polluted lands, water, and air surrounding natural gas extraction sites to the contravention of Indigenous rights along pipeline routes and elevated risk of dangerous gas leaks and explosions along the supply chain, increasing the use of LNG, whether on land or at sea, has diverse negative repercussions for human health.”
–Dr. Melissa Lem, President, CAPEA life-cycle approach to LNG is needed to address upstream and downstream emissions, and to avoid exacerbating land-based issues in pursuit of solutions at sea. Without integrating climate and social factors into fuel and technology production pathways, decarbonization “solutions” like LNG will only exacerbate the impacts on communities already most vulnerable to climate change and environmental racism.
Figure: Current and projected methane emissions and sectoral mitigation potential in 2030. The shipping industry’s use of LNG as a fuel would further exacerbate the fossil fuel sector’s methane emissions. With the right mitigation measures in place, the emissions reduction could avoid significant health, climate, and social impacts. (Source: United Nations Environment Programme and Climate and Clean Air Coalition. Global Methane Assessment: Benefits and Costs of Mitigating Methane Emissions. Nairobi: United Nations Environment Programme, 2021. https://www.unep.org/
Read the report to learn more, or listen to the Ship.energy podcast episode.
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