In yet another strike against the fossil fuel industry, President Biden made a call to temporarily freeze proposed liquified natural gas (LNG) projects “until the Department of Energy can update the underlying analyses for authorizations.” LNG exports will be paused indefinitely while environmental studies are conducted, which could take more than a year to complete.
In essence, the administration has made a major decision before producing the data or evidence necessary to justify this decision. And it has once again caved to the whims of the environmentalist agenda which claims LNG projects could potentially impact climate change. Activists had written to the administration in December asserting that LNG emits far more greenhouse gas emissions than coal.
The U.S. has been significantly increasing its LNG export capacity over the last decade; the cooled and liquified form makes it easy and safe to transport. We even became the largest exporter in December of 2023.
But that has all been interrupted.
This unprecedented maneuver to halt LNG exports, which over 150 House Republicans deemed “economically and strategically dangerous,” stands to hurt a number of our allies who rely on our exports. These are nations who Biden promised two years ago would receive increased shipments to end their dependence on Russian gas; many of them still face natural gas supply gaps and will continue to do so for years to come.
Not only is the president shrinking global energy supply, but he is also toying with hundreds of thousands of jobs, tens of billions in economic activity, and our allies overseas.
Read the full Townhall article here.
Kristen Walker is a policy analyst for the American Consumer Institute, a nonprofit education and research organization. For more information about the Institute, visit www.theamericanconsumer.org or follow us on Twitter @ConsumerPal