They said the world needed to move away from coal and into gas.
Environmentalists say that gas is still a fossil fuel that emits CO2 that contributes to global warming.
They would rather invest in increasing renewable energy capacity that is genuinely clean.
Speaking
at the World Gas Conference in Paris, under the strapline "Natural gas
as a core pillar for the sustainable future of the planet," the heads of
Chevron, Exxon Mobil and Shell said demand for gas would grow
significantly.
Cutting emissions
But
Rex Tillerson, chief executive of US energy giant Exxon Mobil, said
"our industry can deliver significant environmental benefits".
He
pointed to the US, where a massive increase in shale gas production has
been "instrumental in reducing CO2 and methane emissions back to 1990s
levels", despite the economy growing by 60% and gas use rising
significantly.
He also called on other countries to redouble
efforts to replicate the US shale gas revolution, particularly those in
Europe. As yet, no other countries have been able to extract meaningful
amounts of shale gas.
Exxon has given up on its attempts to frack
for gas in Poland, where Mr Tillerson said the technology that had
proved so successful in the US did not work on local geology.
Perfect partner
The bosses also said that renewables alone could not meet rising demand for energy.
John
Watson, chief executive of Chevron, said global energy demand was set
to rise by 40% by 2035. "The world is going to need all forms of energy
to meet demand," he said.
Natural gas was the perfect compliment
to renewables, he added, as gas plants can be turned on and off
relatively quickly and cheaply when wind and solar power do not produce
enough energy.
Shell chief Ben Van Beurden said that gas, rather
than cheap and abundant coal, must be used to plug the gap left by any
shortfalls in renewable energy production. Gas produced 60% less CO2 and
90% fewer air pollutants than coal, he said.
"Gas is the ideal
partner to renewables, and is the fastest and cheapest way to reduce
emissions while [at the same time] having a reliable energy system," he
said.
He also called on governments to press for an effective
carbon emissions trading system, where big polluters are forced to pay
for emitting CO2.
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