Longterm investments in fossil fuel infrastructure, which have the potential to spew methane, were halted.
The following article was published in the March-April 2024 issue of NewsNotes.
Organized efforts by front line U.S. communities of the Gulf Coast and the Permian Basin led to the surprising and powerful decision of the Biden Administration to pause the permitting process for new liquified natural gas (LNG) export projects. It is a decision that the White House says will help the United States meet its climate change goals by eliminating emissions equivalent to 675 coal-fired power plants.
The pause will require that proposed projects take into consideration the impacts that LNG facilities have on the climate, communities, and national security.
Referring to the climate crisis as “the existential threat of our time,” President Biden stated that he would “heed the calls of young people and frontline communities who are using their voices to demand action from those with the power to act.”
LNG production and export facilities are often proposed and located in low-income communities, communities of color, and Indigenous and tribal lands, leading to asthma, lung and cardiovascular disease, cancer, preterm births, and premature deaths.
The pause in the mass expansion of U.S. LNG exports cannot be understated. In 2023, the U.S. became the largest exporter of LNG, with President Biden overseeing the largest volume of oil exported in recorded history last year. Massive projected expansion of LNG export terminals would double that by 2028.
The fossil fuel industry has been trying to sell the false narrative that liquefied natural gas is a climate solution to much dirtier coal. Studies show, however, that LNG might be even more dangerous for the climate than coal as it spews methane, which warms the climate at a rate 80 times greater than carbon dioxide over its lifetime. Additional emissions are also created along LNG export supply chains through production, transport, liquefaction, shipping, and combustion.
Over 170 scientists penned a letter to President Biden stating “As scientists we are telling you in clear and unambiguous terms that approving CP2 and other LNG projects will undermine your stated goals of meaningfully addressing the climate crisis and put us on a continued path toward escalating climate chaos.”
The pause in LGN exports also will help the pocketbooks of U.S. households. Ramping up exports ties the domestic gas market to dramatically higher prices in the international market forcing U.S. residents to pay much more for everything from heating to food prices.
The war in Ukraine was used by the fossil fuel industry to justify the expansion of LNG exports, insisting that U.S. LNG was needed to replace Russian gas in Europe and elsewhere. Some civil society organizations and parliamentarians in the EU spoke out with a message to the contrary. A letter by these organizations to President Biden and U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm informed that “Europe’s existing gas supply network is sufficient, taking into account both its own import infrastructure and U.S. LNG export infrastructure.”
After the announcement of Biden’s pause, global congratulatory messages poured in. French economist Laurence Tubiana, a major architect of the Paris climate agreement stated, “The U.S. decision to pause permitting for new LNG export facilities is an act of global leadership, putting the historic agreement at COP28 to transition away from fossil fuels into practice.”
But the most effective pressure calling on Biden to make this decision came from communities directly affected by the proposed build out of LNG projects. According to Cheyenne Rendon, Senior Policy Officer of Society of Native Nations “this ‘pause’ wouldn’t have been considered nor executed if there wasn’t weight behind our voices. Our Nation needs to lead by example and prioritize Human Health and Rights over false solutions such as LNG.”
Climate justice organizations and frontline communities were planning to descend upon Washington in early February to protest the expansion of LNG exports with a lineup of marches, rallies and sit ins. The Biden administration announced the pause just one week before the planned activities were set to begin.
Roishetta Ozane, Director of the Vessel Project of Louisiana called Biden’s pause “monumental.” At the same time, she warned, “we cannot afford to let up in our efforts to hold decision-makers accountable and ensure that frontline communities are no longer subjected to the harmful effects of these industries. This announcement is a reason to celebrate, but it is also a reminder that our work is far from over.”
Indeed, Republican in the House of Representatives wasted no time in passing a bill soon after Biden’s announced pause with the misleading name of “Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act (H.R. 7176). The bill is not expected to be taken up by the Senate. Nonetheless it is a message that putting the interest of the planet and frontline communities before fossil fuel companies will require the support of all of us.
Graphic of methane emissions released globally courtesy of NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio.