As Pennsylvania’s gas boom helps propel the United States away from coal-fired power, one energy researcher says the impact on climate change will be a wash.
Burning natural gas for electricity emits less carbon dioxide than burning coal. That’s good news for climate change in the short term, but a number of other factors negate the long-term benefits of transitioning to more natural gas power, said Daniel Raimi, a senior research associate with the think tank Resources for the Future.