Canada’s liquefied natural gas touted — and doubted — as a green ‘transition’ fuel

The first shipments of Canadian liquefied natural gas (LNG) will soon reach the shores of Asia, according to the Canadian Press, in a move that some see as a positive step in global emissions reductions, while others are skeptical.

“Cleaner energy for the world”

“When I think of LNG, I think of cleaner energy around the world,” Stacia West, president of Shell Canada, said in an interview at the World Energy Conference in Calgary.

Shell is partnering with four Asian companies on the LNG Canada project in Kitimat, British Columbia, the first Canadian gas export project that will liquefy natural gas and ship it across the Pacific Ocean in tankers. Several other similar projects are under construction or in the planning stages off the coast of British Columbia, the Canadian Press reported.

Alberta Premier’s ‘Global Emissions Reduction’

Alberta Premier Daniel Smith said at the energy expo that Canada’s oil and gas exports could be an “antidote” to today’s geopolitical tensions while helping to reduce global emissions.

“By exporting more natural gas, we can help other countries replace more polluting fuels like coal,” he said.

Smith pointed to a recent Fraser Institute study that found that if Canada doubled its gas production and exported it to Asia to replace coal, it could reduce global emissions by up to 630 million tonnes per year, or 90 per cent of Canada’s total annual emissions.

Experts doubt

However, some experts believe the reality is more complex.

“Will all of our gas exports replace coal? Absolutely not. Some of it will, but it’s hard to say exactly how much,” said Kenneth Fellows, a professor at the University of Calgary.

“It’s very likely that Canadian gas will replace coal with gas imported from Russia, Central Asia and the Middle East, and as a result, it won’t have a significant impact on reducing emissions. In some cases, it could even be more polluting because of the higher energy consumption required to liquefy and transport LNG,” he added.

China and India: Two Biggest Consumers

In China, Fellows said, there is demand for all types of energy, and the likelihood that LNG will replace coal is not high; it will simply be added to the energy mix.

On the other hand, Michael Sambasivam, senior analyst at the Paris Climate Action Fund, said:
“In countries like India, even at its cheapest, imported natural gas from Canada is many times more expensive than domestic coal, and to phase out coal, you need heavy subsidies and expensive infrastructure to import and use LNG.”

He added:
“Even if there are emissions reductions, it is unclear which country or company can claim ownership of the reductions, because both sides want to take the number and that is unacceptable in climate policy.”

Competition with renewables

Sambasivam also said:
“In practice, LNG is competing directly with renewables, not coal. If there is going to be investment, it is better to go directly to clean energy.”

The Methane Problem and Leaks

Dwayne Singh, a researcher at Stand.Earth and a former Green Party candidate in the British Columbia provincial election, also warned that claims of LNG being green should not be accepted without considering the impacts of its production, liquefaction and transportation.

According to him, methane, the main component of natural gas, is 80 times more polluting than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period, and the amount of this gas leaking from facilities and pipelines has always been a matter of debate.

He said:
“Have we really accounted for leaks along the entire transmission path? Are the true levels of methane emissions in British Columbia and Canada being reported correctly?”

In his opinion, the discussion of “transition fuels” in today’s climate crisis is no longer meaningful:
“The time for transition fuels ended more than a decade ago. Today we have to be realistic. We are in the middle of a climate crisis.”

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