Global report

1 CLIMATE

‘Gas is the new coal,’ warns report into soaring use

Growing use of gas for heating, power and cooking is turning it into the “new coal” and its use must be cut by nearly a third this decade to avoid disastrous climate effects, a new report warns.

Gas has often been referred to as a “bridge fuel” as it emits about half the carbon dioxide of coal, and many countries have embraced it while also promising to transition to renewable energy.

But gas, which has become easy and cheap to access due to advances in fracking, is still a fossil fuel, and the analysis finds it is the fastest-growing source of CO2 emissions, jeopardising global heating thresholds.

If the world is to avert disastrous 1.5C of global heating the use of gas should already be in decline, according to the Climate Analytics report, yet it is projected to cause 70% of the fossil CO2 emissions increase by 2030 under current policies.

Unabated gas use must peak this decade and then drop sharply, the analysis finds, necessitating a decrease of 30% below last year’s levels by 2030. “Ultimately, gas is a bridge to nowhere,” said Bill Hare, chief executive of Climate Analytics.

Spotlight Page 17 →

2 BELARUS

Armed guards escort 1,000 migrants to Polish border

Authorities have escorted as many as 1,000 mainly Middle Eastern migrants to the