Leveling the playing field of transportation fuels: Accounting for indirect emissions of natural gas

Leveling the playing field of transportation fuels: Accounting for indirect emissions of natural gas

Greenhouse gas emissions

Natural gas transportation

Liquefied natural gas

Compressed natural gas

Transportation fuels

Biofuels

Gasoline

Indirect emissions

Liquified natural gas

Low carbon fuel standard

Petroleum transportation

Gas emissions

Greenhouse gases

Coal

Natural gas fields

Coal transportation

Gas fuel analysis

Land use

Greenhouse effect

Natural gas transportation fuels are credited in prior studies with greenhouse gas emissions savings relative to petroleum-based fuels and relative to the total emissions of biofuels. These analyses, however, overlook a source of potentially large indirect emissions from natural gas transportation fuels, namely the emissions from incremental coal-fired generation caused by price-induced substitutions away from natural-gas-fired electricity generation. Because coal-fired generation emits substantially more greenhouse gases and criteria air pollutants than natural-gas-fired generation, this indirect coal-use change effect diminishes potential emissions savings from natural gas transportation fuels. Estimates from a parameterized multi-market model suggest the indirect coal-use change effect rivals in magnitude the indirect land-use change effect of biofuels and renders natural gas fuels as carbon intensive as petroleum fuels.

21-31

95

Energy Policy

2016

Sexton, Steven

Eyer, Jonathan

journalArticle

0301-4215

10.1016/j.enpol.2016.04.023

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030142151630194X