Cut Carbon Emissions

Using Natural Gas to Cut Carbon Emissions

August 12, 2009 by Dan Gibson, American Gas Association

I was just reading the North American Leaders’ Declaration on Climate Change and Clean Energy statement on the White House Web site. That’s a statement from the leaders of the United States, Mexico and Canada reaffirming the “urgency and necessity of taking aggressive action on climate change.”

Did you know that natural gas produces half the carbon emissions that coal produces? Sounds like a quick win for me if you want to cut your carbon emissions.

This is not only true for electricity generation but also in the home. AGA has been asking for energy efficiency/carbon footprint information to be included in the EnergyGuide labeling program for home appliances. The National Academies of Sciences, recently issued a report confirming the above and recommending that full-fuel-cycle analysis be used to determine the true efficiency of an end-use appliance, be it gas or electric.

To quote from the release, the National Academy of Sciences advocates that “the U.S. Department of Energy should consider gradually changing its system of setting appliance energy-efficiency standards to a full-fuel-cycle measurement, which takes into account both the energy used to operate an appliance, as well as upstream energy costs – energy consumed in producing and distributing fuels from coal, oil and natural gas, and energy lost in generating and delivering electric power.”

Pretty strong words.

If you want to see how much of an impact your home appliances can have, click here to calculate your carbon footprint and see how to help reduce carbon emissions.