Leveling the playing field of transportation fuels: Accounting for indirect emissions of natural gas

Steven Sexton and Jonathan Eyer

Energy Policy, 2016, vol. 95, issue C, 21-31

Abstract: Natural gas transportation fuels are credited in prior studies with greenhouse gas emissions savings relative to petroleum-based fuels and relative to the total emissions of biofuels. These analyses, however, overlook a source of potentially large indirect emissions from natural gas transportation fuels, namely the emissions from incremental coal-fired generation caused by price-induced substitutions away from natural-gas-fired electricity generation. Because coal-fired generation emits substantially more greenhouse gases and criteria air pollutants than natural-gas-fired generation, this indirect coal-use change effect diminishes potential emissions savings from natural gas transportation fuels. Estimates from a parameterized multi-market model suggest the indirect coal-use change effect rivals in magnitude the indirect land-use change effect of biofuels and renders natural gas fuels as carbon intensive as petroleum fuels.

Keywords: Compressed natural gas; Liquified natural gas; Transportation fuels; Low carbon fuel standard; Greenhouse gas emissions; Indirect emissions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:enepol:v:95:y:2016:i:c:p:21-31

DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2016.04.023

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