Meeting the needs of a sustainable future

In 2015, the United Nations set out 17 Sustainable Development Goals as a way for society to work collectively towards achieving a better future.  

This includes aspirations to eliminate extreme poverty and hunger, achieve gender equality, improve access to quality education, enable access to affordable clean energy, and many more. The UN refers to these goals in its mission statement as “a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all by 2030”. 

But what is meant by sustainability, and why is it so important? In general terms, it’s all about being able to meet people’s needs in a society without negatively impacting future generations. It’s not just about meeting environmental targets, but social and economic targets as well. 

For example, Australia is one of the world’s leading exporters of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which can help to reduce emissions overseas by replacing higher emissions fuels such as coal. In fact, statistics from the government show that Australian LNG exports have the potential to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 170 million tonnes a year in importing countries. 

Natural gas also complements the increased uptake of renewable energies such as wind and solar power by providing additional supply when required. 

Natural gas companies also heavily invest in technologies such as carbon capture systems and hydrogen energy, which can help to accelerate society’s move towards net zero emissions. Major gas producers in Australia such as Woodside and Santos are already exploring the potential of hydrogen as a part of the global energy mix, as it is an abundant, zero-emissions source of gas. 

A major global employer, the natural gas industry has a key part to play in contributing to these goals by enabling energy security, job creation, and support for the move towards a sustainable, cleaner energy, and socially equitable future.