Full lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of LNG are equivalent to coal

Figure 1: Fuel Combustion and Life-Cycle GHG Emissions for Current Power Plants. (click chart to enlarge)

A study published by Carnegie Mellon University compared the greenhouse gas emissions from the full life-cycle of coal, natural gas, liquified natural gas, and synthetic natural gas produced from coal. The chart above summarized the study conclusions. In particular, the full life cycle of LNG, which includes liquefaction, transportation, and regasification, compares with the full life cycle of domestically sourced coal.

You can read the study here:
Jaramillo_ComparativeLCACoalNG.pdf

Comparative Life-Cycle Air Emissions of Coal, Domestic Natural Gas, LNG, and SNG for Electricity Generation
by Paulina Jaramillo, W. Michael Griffin, and H. Scott Matthews
Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Tepper School of Business, and Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213-3890
Published in ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / VOL. 41, NO. 17, 2007
http://www.ce.cmu.edu/~gdrg/readings/2007/09/13/Jaramillo_ComparativeLCACoalNG.pdf