As the world faces a climate crisis, liquefied natural gas offers a cleaner, more sustainable energy solution. But why is LNG key to the energy transition, and how does it affect daily life?
By Morning Studio editors
November 28, 2024
As the world faces a climate crisis, liquefied natural gas offers a cleaner, more sustainable energy solution. But why is LNG key to the energy transition, and how does it affect daily life?
By Morning Studio editors
November 28, 2024
The world’s leading climate scientists predict that global temperatures will rise far above the internationally agreed limits in the coming decades. Averting this climate crisis makes the transition to cleaner energy more critical than ever.
To achieve the temperature targets set by the Paris Agreement, natural gas is considered a suitable transition fuel in the shift towards more sustainable energy sources.
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) in particular, with its lower carbon emissions compared to other traditional fossil fuels such as coal, plays an integral role in efforts to keep global warming in check, according to the peer-reviewed research database ScienceDirect.
But first, what is LNG?
Why do some energy experts advocate for LNG as a crucial energy source that could power our future?
Industry leaders are stepping up to ensure that LNG delivers on its promise for a lower-carbon future.
For more than 40 years, Petronas has been at the
forefront of these efforts, supplying and transporting LNG.
While LNG is crucial to Petronas’ strategy for a lower-carbon future, the Malaysian energy group is also committed to decarbonisation and reducing operational emissions through several key initiatives outlined in its “Net Zero Carbon Emissions by 2050” pathway. These include:
To achieve its net-zero ambition, Petronas has committed to the following decarbonisation targets:
To cap greenhouse gas emissions at 49.5 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO₂e) in Petronas’ Malaysian operations by the end of 2024. In addition, achieve a 50 per cent reduction in methane emissions from Petronas’ groupwide natural gas value chain operations by 2025 (from 2019 baseline levels).
To achieve its net-zero ambition, Petronas has committed to the following decarbonisation targets:
Achieve a 25 per cent reduction in Petronas’ groupwide emissions by 2030, which includes a 70 per cent reduction in methane emissions from the groupwide natural gas value chain as well as a 50 per cent reduction in methane emissions from Malaysia’s natural gas value chain (from 2019 baseline levels).
To achieve its net-zero ambition, Petronas has committed to the following decarbonisation targets:
Around the world, reliance on LNG is growing exponentially, indicating a global shift towards cleaner energy.
It is already being used as an energy source in various countries around the world, including those in Asia – Japan, South Korea and China in particular.
As one of the world’s largest LNG producers, Petronas has delivered LNG to over 55 terminals in more than 25 countries worldwide.
LNG is powering people’s daily lives, as it enables commonplace activities to run smoothly.
Japan, for example, relies significantly on LNG, which makes up about 24 per cent of its total energy mix. This increase came largely after lessons learned from the country’s experience with the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which disabled a power plant in Fukushima.
Japan’s LNG supply is primarily used in electricity production, but it is also used for heating and cooking in most residential households.
In Singapore, about 95 per cent of the electricity is generated from natural gas, which the country considers to be the cleanest form of fossil fuel. The country actively seeks to import cleaner energy sources from abroad, including from Malaysia and Indonesia.
The city state is also diversifying its supply of natural gas via an LNG terminal operating on Jurong Island, with plans to build a second terminal in the near future to support new industrial sites and power plants.
Flexible and efficient, the adoption of LNG is on the rise.
With the world embracing decarbonisation efforts, LNG is set to play a crucial role in driving the energy transition.
The gas sector itself is also undergoing a process of decarbonisation, which includes accelerating the deployment of carbon capture, low-carbon solutions and renewable energy, in addition to the elimination of methane emissions.
These initiatives position LNG and the broader energy sector as key contributors to achieving global climate goals.
With collective efforts, the world can look forward to a cleaner and more sustainable future.