John Kerry Responds on the Future of Natural Gas
The U.S. climate envoy defends the transition to clean power as an ‘opportunity,’ not a ‘death sentence,’ for the industry.
John Kerry
Your editorial “John Kerry Says the Darndest Things” (April 23) completely distorts the meaning, context and reality, not only of my argument, but of what the private sector is already doing. Natural gas is central to a smart and achievable policy to cut greenhouse-gas emissions today. In the near term, that means pairing with renewables to clean up electricity. In the next decade, it also means abating emissions from gas itself.
Industry sees this as an opportunity, not a “death sentence.” American oil and gas CEOs have said they see carbon capture as a $3 trillion to $5 trillion industry by 2050. As the country moves to 100% clean power by 2035, American companies lead on technologies to produce emission-free electricity with gas. There are immense job opportunities in the gas industry’s transition to net zero. Don’t take my word for it; look at the industry’s investments.
Globally, stopping methane leaks from oil and gas systems would eliminate as much warming as removing every car in the world. Rapid action to reduce gas flaring world-wide can free up as much gas as the European Union imports from Russia. American firms have the technology and experience to deliver solutions. That’s why we are partnering with more than 110 countries on the Global Methane Pledge to cut warming by at least 0.2 degrees Celsius by 2050, with support from industry.
Over $60 billion to support clean-energy technologies in the bipartisan infrastructure law will accelerate innovation in technologies like hydrogen, in which our natural-gas sector can lead the world. As an essential next step, Congress must pass robust clean-energy tax credits and investments to ensure that we deploy and export these solutions at scale, rather than cede these key markets to foreign competitors.
