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Green methanol produces greenhouse gas emissions when burned

Burning green methanol produces far fewer greenhouse gas emissions than traditional fuels but does not eliminate greenhouse gas emissions. Using green methanol instead of traditional fuels can reduce carbon emissions by 60-95%.1 When green methanol combusts, it releases carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapor. Proponents of green methanol may argue that the CO2 emissions from burning green methanol are part of a closed carbon cycle since the carbon in green methanol comes from captured atmospheric CO2 or industrial emissions, and therefore does not add additional CO2 to the atmosphere in the way that burning fossil fuels does.2

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Footnotes​

  1. Thesing, G. (2023, August 31). Is green methanol the clean fuel the world is forgetting?. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/08/green-methanol-clean-fuel ↩

  2. Methanol Institute. (n.d). Carbon Footprint of Methanol. https://www.methanol.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/CARBON-FOOTPRINT-OF-METHANOL-PAPER_1-31-22.pdf ↩