Paradoxically, high oil prices in some ways hinder the quest to curb GHG emissions.
High oil prices make it economic to develop unconventional deposits such as
The price rise has a similar dirty effect at power plants. In the 1990’s, when natural gas was cheap, many countries pushed the use of that fuel, in place of coal, to make electricity. Doing so was good for the environment, because per unit of energy generated, natural gas emits about half as much CO2 as does coal. But natural gas prices roughly track oil prices, so they have been rising too. Their rise has prompted a resurgence in coal use, one reason GHG emissions are rising faster than many expected.
Source: WSJ, 03/01/08
