Fossil Gas Facts

Fossil gas emits methane – a powerful form of climate pollution that heats our planet 86x faster than carbon dioxide.
The climate impact of methane produced by the oil and gas industry in the U.S. is equal to 16% of ALL human made carbon emissions around the world annually.
In 2020, Minnesota’s existing fossil gas plants emitted the same amount of climate pollution as 782,608 cars over the course of a year.

In 2020, Minnesota experienced three fossil gas pipeline explosions: one in Pequot Lakes that hospitalized a restaurant owner with severe burns, one in Paynesville that leveled a home, and one in St. Paul that destroyed a house and badly burned an elderly resident. Since 2005, fossil gas pipelines in Minnesota have led to: 77 incident reports, 9 injuries, 2 deaths, and $59 million in damages.
People exposed to air pollution from fossil gas extraction sites are more likely to experience asthma symptoms, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and cancer. 17.6 million people live within 1 mile of a fossil gas extraction site – including a disproportionate number of communities of color and residents living in poverty.

Energy efficiency and electricity from sources like wind and solar power are resources we produce right here in our own state and are much less expensive than producing energy from new fossil gas plants. Renewable energy is expected to be cheaper than energy from 90% of existing fossil gas plants by 2035.
Black, American Indian, and Hawaiian/Pacific Islander households are more than twice as likely than White households to forgo food or medicine to pay energy costs. Black and Hispanic children are 2.5 times and 1.5 times more likely to live in energy insecure homes.