Resumen del autor, extraído del trabajo. Due to a convergence of factors (advanced technologies, greenhouse gas reduction, and liberalization of the electricity business) natural gas is expected to become the preferred fuel for power generation (PG). The paper reviews the advances foreseen in unconventional gas-fired PG, namely: ̈distributed generation, through micro-turbines and eventually fuel cells, with emphasis on co-generation applications; ̈PG schemes (post-combustion and pre-combustion de-carbonization) allowing CO2 separation and subsequent sequestration in geologic reservoirs; ̈hybrid cycles, coupling a first-stage electrochemical conversion to combined cycles. The possible impact of these technologies on the CO2 reductions required by the Kyoto Protocol is estimated. Taking as baseline the IEA Business As Usual World Energy Outlook, by switching 30% of coal-fired PG to gas-fired advanced combined cycles, by the year 2010, and 30% to unconventional gas-fuelled PG, in the subsequent decade, the average CO2 emissions would drop from 915 to 511 g/kWh, with a total CO2 reductions, at the year 2020, of 4000 Mt/year. These evaluations show that natural gas, among fossil fuels, is the most suitable candidate to sustain an orderly transition to a more de-carbonized energy system and that its main contribution to CO2 mitigation should be expected in power generation.