Cheap, Abundant Shale Gas Won’t Significantly Cut U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The rapid expansion of shale gas production in the U.S. has triggered a polarizing debate: environmentalists charge that methane leaks could make shale gas a higher carbon emitter than coal, while some industry experts and the Obama Administration claim that cheap shale gas will help cut emissions, even in the absence of policies that constrain carbon release.  A new study aiming to settle that debate finds that abundant shale gas by itself will neither slow nor accelerate the current rate of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

Cheap, Abundant Shale Gas Won’t Significantly Cut U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions