Pausing LNG Exports

Liquefied natural gas, also known as LNG, has been touted by the fossil fuel industry as an energy solution that is “good for our environment.” In fact, Donald Trump said those exact words during a campaign rally in Nevada. However, we know that that couldn’t be further from the truth. The fact is LNG production leaks methane — a highly potent greenhouse gas. Methane gas is 84 times worse than carbon dioxide on a 20-year timeline. In the long run, LNG is even more harmful than coal. 

In addition to the harm LNG has on our environment, the LNG boom has caused heat and electricity prices to increase for US consumers. And this is all while lining the pockets of fossil fuel CEOs and getting us further from a clean energy future.

That’s why the proposition of eight LNG export projects regulated by the US government became the subject of great concern. Those eight projects would have the potential to create the equivalence of 113 coal plants in climate emissions every year. 

As the projects awaited approval from the Department of Energy, we immediately called on the administration to prevent these massive potential carbon bombs. 

We joined over 300 organizations from over 40 countries across the globe in a letter calling on the Biden administration to abandon its support for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) at COP28.

We also got our membership base involved. Tens of thousands of FOE members signed a petition calling for an end to US financing of LNG export projects. 

Thankfully, President Biden announced a pause on all new LNG export terminals! This effectively put over 20 LNG projects on hold. And those projects would have had the equivalence of over 400 coal plants annually.

Biden taking a stance against LNG during an election year shows how this topic has become a mainstream issue for Democrats. This shows a positive shift for progressive groups like Friends of the Earth since our efforts to stop LNG were once met with claims from Democrats that LNG was a climate solution. 

Biden’s news was a huge cause for celebration and a testament to our collective power when standing up to Big Polluters. But there’s still work to be done. Existing LNG facilities still pose a massive threat to our environment. And the U.S. remains the world’s largest LNG exporter. Ultimately, Biden’s pause is just that — a pause. With significant industry and GOP pushback attempting to undo the pause, we continue to demand that the Department of Energy implements an approval process for new LNG terminals that fully accounts for the potential impacts on our climate and consumer costs. And if those considerations are taken into account, these harmful projects will be outright rejected and the expansion of LNG will be stopped once and for all.