North America's abundant natural gas resources can address three challenges that the global energy industry faces today, including countering high prices, providing energy security by exporting gas to Europe, to reduce reliance on Russian gas, and, thirdly, replacing high-emission forms of energy to aid in advancing the decarbonisation effort.

Increasing access to gas pipelines

Constructing more gas pipelines means greater accessibility and availability, thus helping to reduce gas prices. High prices often stem from the fact that there are regulatory issues surrounding building gas pipelines, meaning that supply is low. New pipelines can help in preventing inflated prices, and can also be repurposed in the future for renewable energy, as the world’s energy needs evolve. 

Serving European demand 

Due to the war in Ukraine and its socioeconomic impact across countries, there has been a reduced supply of Russian pipeline gas into the EU, meaning that energy security is hanging in the balance.

Europe is implementing measures to strengthen energy security by diversifying away from Russian piped gas imports, which can, in turn, lead to an increasing reliance on North America's natural gas resources.

Feasible, long-term contracts will need to be agreed upon between European nations and the US, if US LNG is to help in reducing reliance on Russia for gas exports.

Reducing carbon

Natural gas could help turn the tide away from higher emitting forms of energy, such as coal, in the short to medium term. Due to the fact that gas supply has increased in the U.S, power emissions have dropped by around 18% over the last 10 or so years, leading to a drop of 4.2 GtCO2. As the world moves towards the goal of carbon neutrality, natural gas can serve as a transitory energy source, aiding in the rapid removal of coal.