Shale Gas to the Climate Rescue (Alan Riley)

Alan Riley / Op-Ed for the New York Times / August 2012

In this Op-Ed Alan Riley (Professor of Energy Law, City University London) argues unconventional Shale Gas – extracted through a process known as fracking – could be the answer for the rapid reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases that are urgently needed if the world is to combat climate change.

What is fracking? See infographic for the basics

Riley bases his argument on the fact “shale gas emits 50 percent less carbon dioxide than coal”. He believes it could potentially replace coal within a few decades because it is found across the world and is relatively cheap.

Reducing dependence on coal is particularly important in emerging economies such as China and India because of their increasing share of global emissions. Riley believes there is ample potential for China to increase shale gas operations because it could use state funds and has access to the latest technology.

Shifting to shale gas now would buy us time to develop the long-term transition to renewable energies which are currently not in a position to replace fossil fuels.

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This summary was prepared by Why Green Economy?. The views expressed have been paraphrased. See the original source for more information.