New report highlights benefits of natural gas

“Without government assistance and without special policy treatment, natural gas has already proven its benefits to the environment,” chief executive of the Australian Pipeline Industry Association (APIA), Cheryl Cartwright, said.
APIA represents the nation’s gas transmission industry, which is expected to have a major role in Australia’s carbon constrained future.
The Climate Group’s Report shows that in Australia’s eastern states, greenhouse emissions from energy use dropped 1.8 per cent in 2009, meaning 5.5 million tonnes of emissions were avoided.
The increasing role of gas in electricity generation, rising from 8.4 per cent to 9.3 per cent of the total generation share, is attributed as driving some of this decrease.
Cartwright said that if all coal-fired electricity generation was replaced by natural gas-fired electricity generation, Australia would reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent.
“Of course, we are not suggesting that this can or should happen immediately, but the figure certainly demonstrates the benefits of natural gas - the world’s lowest emission fossil fuel,” she said.
“The technology to introduce natural gas for electricity generation is ready now - it is not waiting for further development to ensure its commercial viability.
“The future for the natural gas industry is bright, as in addition to replacing coal for base-load electricity generation, it will also be required to provide back-up power for renewable energy sources as wind and solar are introduced into the market.
“Although a large amount of Australia’s reserves of natural gas will be exported as LNG, this nation will also benefit from our abundant gas reserves,” Cartwright said.
The nation’s gas reserves are estimated to contain over 250 years supply at current production rates.