November 4, 2024

Natural Gas

This morning, unionized natural gas workers are uniting with some politicians in the fight against methane leaks.

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Keep it in the Pipe is about reducing methane leaks by forcing companies to invest in leak detection and mitigation through good union jobs.

Natural gas is 95% methane and it travels long distances in pipelines crisscrossing the country. In communities, it travels through distribution networks built decades ago.

A lot of those pipes are being left to run until failure as the future profits of fossil fuel companies come under pressure from the realities of a shifting energy industry.

The companies would rather not invest in infrastructure that will not likely generate profits in the coming decades.

That future is not here today. 2023 saw record natural gas production and industrial use continue to increase. Most production is in BC and Alberta.

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Consumer (residential and commercial heating) use is as high as electricity generation. The main use is industrial and export markets.
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The expansion of natural gas production in Canada has been the result of the sanctions against Russia and the export market to replace coal in Asia.

Methane leakage along our consumer and industrial distribution system is currently estimated (using the industry's numbers) at about 1% of total greenhouse causing gas emissions in Canada.

That amount is increasing as investment in gas continues.

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"Fugitive" emissions (right axis) here are leaks from the distribution infrastructure in Ontario as reported by the industry.

Scientists have estimated that it is likely twice that or higher, depending on how you measure the slow leaks along the system. Much of that leakage is from old pipelines, and from outdated technology at the ends of the pipelines allowing fugitive leaks.

Natural Gas is cheap, so leaks are not a big concern for gas companies. Under regulation, they have been forced to make investments to reduce emissions at production sites, though these are still too high. However, there is no monitoring these leaks along the distribution side before the gas is burned or used to make chemicals.

We need to change this.

The replacement of natural gas is not going to come as fast as we need it to. "Hard to abate" sectors—those sectors that use fossil fuels because there is no real alternative—include chemicals and plastics, as well as heavy industries that have switched away from coal. The gas sector itself is a big burner of natural gas to power pipelines.

While the future is electric, while we are getting there, we will continue to use this natural resource. We should do so with the care and attention needed to reduce its negative impacts on workers, communities, and the environment.

Why union jobs?

Our Collective Agreements have provisions protecting

  • Health and safety of our members: Leaks are bad for them.
  • Job protections: Members cannot be targeted for doing their jobs and identifying leaks and other issues with the system.
  • We have an economic incentive to find leaks because our jobs are to fix them. Safer systems mean more Unifor members. It is as simple as that.