As the world shifts away from coal, the natural gas industry has been growing to secure its place in the energy mix. Across the value chain, we’re seeing obtained gas exploration licenses and announced additions of LNG supplies. Although investing in gas looks promising at first glance, the uncertainty of profitability drawn by methane emissions should call for a closer examination.
随着世界各国对煤炭依赖度的不断降低，天然气行业正不断壮大，以提升其在能源结构中的地位。从勘探许可的获取到液化天然气（LNG）的供应，天然气在整个价值链上都呈现出持续扩张的势态。尽管投资天然气项目乍看之下前景广阔，但甲烷排放给天然气行业的长期盈利能力带来的不确定性值得深入审视。
Myth of clean energy
“清洁”能源的迷思
Methane comprises roughly 70 to 90 percent of gas. The natural gas industry often claims that gas is “clean” because it emits 50 percent less carbon dioxide (CO2) than coal. However, this has recently been debunked, as when analyzing its full-lifecycle emission, methane is over 80 times more potent than CO2 across a 20-year period.
甲烷约占天然气的70%至90%。天然气行业通常宣称天然气是一种“清洁能源”，因为其二氧化碳排放量比煤炭少低50%。然而，最近的一项研究证伪了这一说法。研究表明，从全生命周期的排放量来看，甲烷在20年时间尺度内的升温效应比二氧化碳高80多倍。