John Davies is CEO of Davies Public Affairs, a firm that assists energy companies to earn support for key issues.
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Energy “transition” is a buzzword used by many who associate it with the beginning of the end of natural gas to power our communities.
For the past two decades, my firm has studied public perceptions related to energy issues using both quantitative and qualitative research across the United States. Over this time, support for the continued use of natural gas has not waned, even as support for strong environmental protections and active steps to address climate change have increased.
That’s because people want energy solutions that provide them with a choice. They don’t want to magnify the economic impacts of inflation, and they don’t want to depend on our foreign adversaries for affordable energy. Yet, this pragmatic sentiment has not been reflected at the policy level, where discussions tend to center around how to eliminate the use of all fossil fuels, including natural gas. So how can the natural gas industry remedy this substantial disconnect between public sentiment and public policy?
The answer is that the industry must find and engage natural gas supporters to express their preferences publicly, regularly and articulately. However, the industry cannot expect the public to get involved without an education-based campaign about the compelling environmental success story of natural gas.
To accomplish this, natural gas companies must capture the right tone and message by deeply understanding their audience’s opinions and motivations. For example, if you know that your customers want reliability, affordability and choice while also harboring concerns about climate change, this should inform an education campaign that speaks directly to these things.
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Communications with the public must also be consistent, transparent and fact-based in order to gain trust and credibility. In the natural gas industry specifically, companies must tell a compelling story that addresses deep-seated concerns about climate change, alongside concerns about energy costs. A recent poll my firm conducted of 2,000 American adults found that 60% of people were personally concerned with climate change. At the same time, 81% were also concerned with the rising cost of energy, with well over half of the cost-conscious people saying they were “very concerned.”
Natural gas companies should focus on answering these concerns. Companies need to educate the public that natural gas continues to offer abundant, cost-effective energy while achieving real and significant greenhouse gas reductions. For example, the positive impact of the Shale Revolution that began nearly 20 years ago is a success story that’s not widely known, but it should be. The greatly increased access to domestic natural gas reserves has transformed America’s energy landscape for the better, reducing GHG emissions, improving air quality, reducing foreign dependence and providing families and businesses with reliable, affordable energy.
The reality is that as U.S. natural gas production has nearly doubled since 2005, America has also achieved incredible emissions reductions. In fact, between 2005 and 2018, the U.S. was a leader in GHG emissions reductions, with the majority of nationwide emissions reductions occurring due to a switch from coal to natural gas for power creation.
While the U.S. has reaped the benefits of this energy transformation, a huge portion of the rest of the world remains dependent on coal energy. Three billion people in the world “rely on wood, coal, charcoal or animal waste for cooking and heating,” and 36% of global power was generated by coal in 2019. Imagine the global GHG emissions reductions that could be achieved by exporting U.S. natural gas to “transition” the world away from coal.
That’s the real energy transition, and it’s one the public can get behind if they know the facts. The true energy transition that the public seeks is not the all-or-nothing approach that has been championed by a small but vocal minority of strident activists, but a much less limited vision of how to address worldwide energy challenges in an environmentally and economically sound manner.
This broader narrative gives the public the rationale to support natural gas while equipping them with the information needed to push back against knee-jerk opposition to anything that can be termed a fossil fuel. The industry should articulate a clear vision for an even cleaner energy future, where emissions are further reduced through technological innovations and more sustainable operations like using renewable natural gas and responsibly sourced gas.
Our firm has also found that careful targeting of potential supporters, receptive audiences and independent, open-minded thinkers is critical in the engagement and communication process. Clear, fact-based, educational communication materials will only be effective if they are combined with careful audience research to craft a tailored message and targeted outreach. In concert, these steps will help the natural gas industry tell its story, find allies and activate supporters as needed to overcome any opposition.
Natural gas clearly has a powerful story to tell, but the industry must tell it. With facts and clear communication, natural gas companies can harness public support for the energy source and persuasively show the world that natural gas is the answer to our global energy challenges. The time for the industry to step up and take back the energy “transition” narrative is now.
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Author: John Davies, Forbes Councils Member
