A flame blazes on top of flare stacks at an LNG site in Australia, one of the world’s top LNG exporters.

A flame blazes on top of flare stacks at an LNG site in Australia, one of the world’s top LNG exporters.

Photographer: Patrick Hamilton /Bloomberg
Energy & Science

Natural Gas Is the Rich World’s New Coal

As Germany debates Nord Stream 2, a wider shift is under way

Even the cleanest fossil fuel is losing its appeal to rich nations.

Just a few years ago, natural gas was hailed as vital for the transition toward an economy that runs on renewable energy. But sentiment is changing and the fuel is going the same way as coal, its dirtier sibling shunned by governments, utilities and investors.