The International Energy Agency reports that greenhouse gas production in America has dropped substantially, and the agency credits domestic natural gas with the sharp drop in carbon emissions.
Shale gas has transformed the US energy landscape, with surging production pushing gas prices down to 10-year lows and heralding an industrial renaissance.
“This is a success story based on a combination of policy and technology – policy driving greater efficiency and technology making shale gas production viable,” said Fatih Birol, the IEA’s chief economist, in an interview with the Financial Times.
According to FT, “[g]as is fast becoming the new fuel of choice for the US power sector: in the past 12 months, coal generation has slumped by 19 per cent while gas generation has increased by 38 per cent, according to US Department of Energy figures. A gas-fired plant produces half the CO2 emissions of a coal-fired one.
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