According to Reuters, the co-head of a U.N. sustainable energy program said that natural gas should play a major role in elevating the world’s poor, cutting greenhouse gases and protecting forests.

Here’s an excerpt:

Without it, the U.N.’s Sustainable Energy for All Initiative will have difficulty meeting goals of ensuring universal energy access, doubling the world’s share of renewable energy and doubling the rate of improvement in energy efficiency by 2030, Kandeh Yumkella, co-head of the initiative, told Reuters.

However, natural gas is a non-renewable resource that. when burned, releases carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.

Yumkella’s comments come as the Rio +20 summit is about to begin. The summit, coming two decades after the landmark Earth Summit, focuses on “sustainable development goals.”

» Via: Reuters › U.N. sees natural gas a key to forests, helping poor