How Green is “Green LNG”

Green LNG is a newly emerging trend in the natural gas industry which has been incentivised by the decarbonisation process. This new line of thinking encourages LNG suppliers to offset their GHG emissions from the LNG supply chain by investing in carbon neutral projects outside the sector. As the core focus of LNG use will be on transport, two stages in the industrial supply chain are usually assessed: Well-to-Tank and Tank-to-Wheel. Importantly, policymakers, particularly in the EU, remain reluctant in the face of these offsetting strategies because of the fragmentation of certification processes and the lack of monitoring mechanisms. It is likely that a Life Cycle Assessment will need to be performed to monitor the real greenhouse gas emissions footprint of Green LNG. In particular, greater attention should be paid to methane emissions and gas flaring reduction, which could become part of the offsetting. Moreover, negative emissions from biomethane — and hence from bio-LNG — have to be supported in the certification of Green LNG.