One of the major benefits of natural gas is that it’s a type of clean energy, offering environmental benefits over other fossil fuels like coal that include reduced CO2 emissions. In fact, CO2 emissions from natural gas are half of those resulting from coal.

The increased reliance on natural gas over the past few years has resulted in the lowest CO2 levels the power sector has seen in nearly three decades. The U.S. Energy Information Administration attributes this benefit to the use of natural gas for energy production. Use of natural gas over coal is credited for nearly two-thirds of reductions in CO2 emissions from years 2006 to 2014.

But, the environmental benefits do not end with CO2 emissions. As a source of energy, the use of natural gas will reduce other emissions including:

• NOx
• SO2
• PM
• Acid gasses
• Hg
• Non-Hg heavy metals

In addition to its environmental benefits, natural gas is helping the United States toward economic-related environmental and energy sustainability goals. According to the United States Department of Energy, “The clean energy industry generates hundreds of billions in economic activity, and is expected to continue to grow rapidly in the coming years. There are tremendous economic opportunities for countries that invent, manufacture and export clean energy technologies.”