Summary
In recent months, the US natural gas industry has begun announcing plans to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions at facilities that export liquefied natural gas (LNG), loading it onto tankers that ship it thousands of miles away, typically to Europe or Asia.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has become a key part of industry claims for “green LNG,” “carbon neutral LNG,” and “net-zero LNG.” With such claims, the industry has portrayed LNG as environmentally friendly, and consistent with the Paris Agreement that aims to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
However, gas industry plans for CCS at LNG export terminals often do not hold up to scrutiny, amounting to greenwashing. If CCS is applied to LNG export facilities, it would capture only a small fraction of the total life-cycle emissions occurring from the extraction, transport, and use of natural gas.
