Liquified Natural Gas: What to know about LNG and Biden’s decision
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration said Friday it is postponing consideration of new natural gas export terminals in the United States, even as gas deliveries to Europe and Asia have soared since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
President Joe Biden’s decision, announced at the start of the 2024 presidential election, aligns the Democratic president with environmentalists who fear that the massive increase in exports of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, could be causing catastrophic planet-warming emissions. while Biden does. pledged to cut climate pollution in half by 2030.
Industry groups and Republicans condemned the pause as a “victory for Russia,” while environmentalists hailed it as a way to tackle climate change and counter Biden’s approval of the massive Willow oil project in Alaska last year.
LNG is the abbreviation for liquefied natural gas and is created when gas is cooled to approximately –162° C (-260° F), turning it into a liquid that can be safely stored and shipped aboard specially designed ships to destinations around the world. world. Upon arrival, the gas is reheated to return it to a gaseous state and transported by pipeline to distribution companies, industrial consumers and power plants.
Natural gas is used to heat homes and businesses, and is often produced in the United States through a technique known as fracking, which has released vast reserves underground. US gas exports rose sharply after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and the Biden administration has celebrated the supply of US gas to Europe and Asia as a key geopolitical weapon against Russian President Vladimir Putin, allowing US allies to use gas without being dependent on Russia.
The decision is complicated because Biden has praised U.S. exports in the past. But he has faced strong criticism from environmental groups concerned about the rapid expansion of LNG exports in recent years and questioning Biden’s commitment to phasing out fossil fuels such as oil and gas. US oil production has soared since Biden took office.
U.S. LNG capacity has doubled in recent years and will double further under projects already approved, the White House said. The current methods the Energy Department uses to evaluate LNG projects do not sufficiently consider potential cost increases for U.S. consumers and manufacturers or the impact of greenhouse gas emissions, officials said.
“There’s a long runway here (for LNG projects) and we’re taking a step back and thinking, let’s take a good look before that runway expands any further,” White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi said.
The pause will allow officials to update the way the Energy Department analyzes LNG proposals to “avoid export permits that reduce our domestic energy availability, weaken our security or undermine our economy” or the environment, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said.
The pause will have no immediate effect on U.S. gas supplies to Europe or Asia, she said. There are currently seven LNG terminals operating in the US, mainly in Louisiana and Texas, with five more expected to come online in the coming years. Biden’s action would not affect those projects but could delay a dozen or more LNG projects that are pending or in various stages of planning. That includes the Calcasieu Pass 2 project, or CP2, along Louisiana’s Gulf Coast. If built, CP2 would be the largest export terminal in the United States.
“Let me be clear. The US is already the largest exporter of LNG, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to support our allies and partners around the world,” Zaidi said on Friday.
If necessary, the Energy Department can grant exceptions for national security needs, he and Granholm said.
Granholm and other officials declined to say how long the licensing pause will last, but said officials will study how proposed LNG projects will affect the environment, economy and national security, a process that will take “several months.” A public comment period afterward will likely delay any decisions on ongoing LNG projects until after the November election.
Environmentalists applauded Biden’s decision, saying LNG exports not only pollute communities and exacerbate the climate crisis, but also raise energy prices for American families and businesses.
Abigail Dillen, president of the environmental group Earthjustice, called on the Biden administration to meet its climate action and environmental justice commitments “and end dangerous fossil fuel infrastructure” such as LNG terminals. Most such facilities are in the South, in communities of color and low-income areas “that are already overburdened by fossil fuel pollution and are on the front lines of climate change,” she said.
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., called Biden’s action a “much-needed step to protect American communities from export-driven pollution and profiteering.”
The American Petroleum Institute, the largest lobbying group for the oil and gas industry, called Biden’s action “a win for Russia and a loss for American allies, American jobs and global climate progress.”
Mike Sommers, president and CEO of API, said no research is needed to understand “the clear benefits of U.S. LNG (export) exports for stabilizing global energy markets, supporting thousands of American jobs and reducing emissions around the world by transitioning countries to cleaner fuels.” away from coal.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, called the move “foolish” and said it could increase global dependence on Russian and Iranian energy at a time when “our allies in Europe are increasingly relying on us to keep their lights on.” and keep their heat going. .”
Biden hopes the decision will help him win back young voters disenchanted with his administration’s approval of the massive Willow oil project and his support for Israel’s ongoing military offensive in Gaza following October’s deadly Hamas attack.
“We will answer the calls of young people and communities on the front lines who are using their voices to demand action from those with the power to act,” the president said in announcing the pause.
A single proposed LNG export terminal in Louisiana would produce about 20 times Willow’s greenhouse gas emissions, activists say.
“Biden wants young people, who especially care about the climate, in his corner. They were angry about his stupid approval of the Willow oil project,” said environmentalist Bill McKibben.
Republicans portray Biden as a supporter of a Green New Deal that they see as radical and even un-American. Former President Donald Trump, the Republican Party’s frontrunner in 2024, has said he will seek to restore US energy “dominance” and says one of his first actions if he returns to power will be: ‘bubbling, drilling.’
A spokeswoman for Trump’s campaign said Biden had “yet again given in to the radical demands of the environmental extremists in his administration.” The decision to block approval of new LNG export facilities “is another catastrophic, self-inflicted wound that will further undermine America’s economic and national security,” spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said.