GHG Output From New NG Projects Already In The Works Will Equal Emissions Of All Coal Plants Now Operating
A $200bn wave of new gas projects could lead to a “climate bomb” equivalent to releasing the annual emissions of all the world’s operating coal power plants, according to a report. Large banks have invested $213bn into plans to build terminals that export and import gas that is chilled and shipped on ocean tankers. But a report has warned that they could be more damaging than coal power.
The report, by the climate group Reclaim Finance, found a sharp rise in projects to boost the global trade of gas in recent years, driven by a shift from coal to gas in developing countries and Russia’s war on Ukraine, which caused pipeline imports into Europe to dry up. It found that there were eight liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal projects and 99 import terminal projects completed in the past two years, which increased the world’s export capacity by 7% and the global import capacity by 19%.
In addition, LNG developers are planning 156 new LNG terminal projects worldwide to be constructed by 2030, of which 63 are export terminals and 93 import terminals, according to the report. It warned that due to methane leaks these terminals could produce an estimated 10 gigatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the decade, or almost as much as the annual emissions of all the coal plants in operation worldwide.
Justine Duclos-Gonda, a campaigner at Reclaim Finance, said: “Oil and gas companies are betting their future on LNG projects, but every single one of their planned projects puts the future of the Paris agreement in danger. Banks and investors claim to be supporting oil and gas companies in the transition, but instead they are investing billions of dollars in future climate bombs.” The latest findings are expected to fuel growing fears that unchecked investments in the global gas market could lead to an oversupply of gas that would threaten the world’s climate targets.
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https://www.theguardian.cohttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/dec/05/climate-bomb-warning-over-200bn-wave-of-new-gas-projectsm/environment/2024/dec/05/climate-bomb-warning-over-200bn-wave-of-new-gas-projects