Friends of the Earth Statement on Energy and Commerce bill to ease export of liquefied natural gas

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This afternoon, by a vote of 33-18, the House Energy and Commerce Committee moved H.R. 6, the Domestic Prosperity and Global Freedom Act, out of committee. The bill would expedite liquefied natural gas export applications. It would enable the mass approval of liquefied natural gas export projects and do away with the review and approval process that protects the public interest.

Studies by the Department of Energy and European Commission have suggested that the huge amounts of energy required to liquefy natural gas actually make the life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions from liquefied natural gas worse for the climate than those from coal. The production process for LNG also results in almost double the greenhouse gas emissions of conventional natural gas. 

Friends of the Earth Climate and energy campaigner Kate DeAngelis issued the following statement in response to the vote:

The oil and gas industry’s use of fracking is poisoning our wells and polluting private property. Allowing increased natural gas exports will facilitate more fracking, which will only lead to increased air and water pollution and illness; as well as the depletion of valuable water resources. Fracking’s release of toxins into the atmosphere can lead to debilitating headaches, blindness and many other reported health impacts.

Too many members of Congress are beholden to the oil industry and they have allowed fracking and natural gas production to be exempted from many federal environmental laws aimed at protecting public health. This lack of oversight has put workers’ lives at risk and caused an increase in job-related deaths. We should not be poisoning our air and water and putting American lives at risk by shipping this dirty fuel around the globe.

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Contact:
Kate DeAngelis, Climate and energy campaigner, (202) 222-0747, [email protected]
Kate Colwell, Communications specialist, (202) 222-0744, [email protected]