Joe Biden's administration announced Friday, January 26, it was pausing new liquified natural gas (LNG) export facilities, citing the urgent need to tackle the climate crisis by accelerating the transition from fossil fuels. "This pause on new LNG approvals sees the climate crisis for what it is: the existential threat of our time," said Biden in a statement. "While MAGA Republicans willfully deny the urgency of the climate crisis, condemning the American people to a dangerous future, my Administration will not be complacent."
It comes as the president looks to shore up his liberal base in a tough election rematch later this year against likely Republican candidate Donald Trump, who has falsely called human-caused global warming a "hoax" and vowed to torpedo his Democratic opponent's climate agenda. The United States is the world's leading LNG exporter, averaging 11.6 billion cubic feet (328 million cubic meters) per day according to the tracker CEDIGAZ, with seven terminals currently in operation.
Under the plan, new export applications would be subjected to an indefinite review considering climate and wider environmental and economic impacts. Facilities impacted include Venture Global's proposed Calcasieu Pass 2 (CP2) in Louisiana, which would be the biggest terminal in the country and release the equivalent annual emissions of 42 million cars, according to a letter penned to Biden in December by 170 scientists.
Scientists and environmental activists welcomed the move, while fossil fuel industry groups predictably reacted strongly. The Independent Petroleum Association of America said in a statement the plan would "bolster Russian influence" in the European gas market.
But according to a recent letter by 60 European parliamentarians to Biden, while US LNG had previously helped the continent avoid an energy crisis brought on by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, EU member states are now reducing their gas demand. "Europe should not be used as an excuse to expand LNG exports that threaten our shared climate and have dire impacts on US communities," they wrote.