Golden Age of Gas report provokes criticism
MAY 29, 2012
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.026067
BBC : Environmentalists are taking issue with the International Energy Agency’s most recent report , Golden Rules for a Golden Age of Gas. In the report, the IEA promotes the development of the world’s vast resources of unconventional gas—shale gas, tight (trapped) gas, and coalbed methane—because increased natural gas use would displace the use of more carbon-intensive fuels, such as oil and coal. Only near the end of the report does the agency point out that such prolonged use of natural gas could lead to a global temperature rise of 3.5 °C, well above the widely accepted 2 °C target. Critics argue that because of global warming the IEA should not promote the use of any fossil fuel, whether lower-emission or otherwise, and that it should instead be promoting nuclear power and renewables like wind and solar.
© 2012 American Institute of Physics
