Report: Fracking boom helping to contain carbon emissions
March 20, 2017
Numerous environmental groups, such as "Climate Mama", Rain Forest Action Network, Greenpeace, and Justice Through Music, oppose the use of hydraulic fracturing, but a new report shows that the practice may actually be lowering carbon emissions across the globe.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the increase in natural gas supplies brought about by the growth in hydraulic fracturing (or, "fracking") has contributed to "global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions" remaining flat for a third straight year in 2016, "even as the global economy grew."
Fracking is a process which entails the injection of fluid - such as a water, sand and chemical mixture - into shale beds at high pressure to free up petroleum energy resources, such as oil or natural gas.
While the IEA report credits the growth of renewables and energy efficiency, it specifically cites a "surge in shale gas supplies." That surge, of course, was brought about by the growth in fracking...
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