Natural gas should play a reduced, yet still significant role, in the global energy mix even if anthropogenic global warming is limited to 1.5 C degrees, according to the latest modeling by the United Nations (UN) climate change panel.

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The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) analyzed scenarios in the latest report, which indicate that gas use in the power sector would likely peak around 2035 if warming is limited to 1.5 C, and in 2050 if it is limited to 2 C.

The 1.5-C scenarios show global gas use declining by 21-61% between 2020 and 2050, while capping warming at 2 C would cause a decline of 13-36%. The precise figure would depend on factors such as the speed and scale at which carbon capture and storage (CCS) is deployed, researchers said. 

Researchers...