Shining a Light on the Role of Natural Gas in a Changing Climate

A decade ago, few people would have guessed the significant role that natural gas would come to play in energy policy, prices, and planning. Today, however, we look back and see record highs and lows for gas prices, and environmental regulation discouraging coal and petroleum exploration and use. We’re left with little doubt that the future is going to be interesting. Some have pointed to the development and implementation of natural gas in markets that have historically been led by coal, petroleum, and other fuels. At the fourth annual CUB Conference, Changing Climate: Adapting to New Regulations on Friday October 24th, we dedicate a forum to this very issue. We are fortunate to have Wendy Gerlitz, Senior Policy Associate at NW Energy Coalition, Tom Eckman, Director of Power Planning at the NW Power Council, and Dan Kirschner, Executive Director of the Northwest Gas Association, three experts on the issues of Energy source, use, and regulation, joining us to discuss The Appropriate Role of Natural Gas in a Carbon-Constrained World.

Some may envision an ideal world as a world that is completely free of pollution. Others, some of whom earn their living in the field of energy, may not agree. No matter what shape you believe the distant future takes, we can all agree that perfectly clean energy is not going to be here tomorrow. One of the key questions when considering the future of natural gas is whether its large scale use can be viewed as a long term reality, or whether it is a temporary bridge to a different energy landscape. In the regulated world that most of us live in, what does a bridge role mean for natural gas investment, given the rate at which technology is bringing renewable energy sources to the scene?

Aside from regulatory considerations, there are practical and logistical concerns as well. In the deregulated world of telecom and data exchange, we have all seen the demand for supportive transmission explode in the past couple of decades. If natural gas continues to be a larger and larger player in the energy market, transportation configurations will need to be solved and built. With gas, this is more difficult than either a liquid or a solid. If reduction of carbon is a goal, will the infrastructure evolve in time to get us there?

Our panel will discuss these issues along with the pinnacle concern:  even in an ideal regulatory and economic environment, does natural gas actually have net benefits when held up against the fuels that we are moving away from? What sort of analysis will be required to evaluate the impact of natural gas from a perspective aimed at reducing carbon?

Please join us in this pivotal discussion on Friday, October 24th, 2014 at the White Stag Block in Old Town Portland. There is still time to register – sign up today at www.cubpolicycenter.org/conference!

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