For decades, coal has been enemy number one to climate advocates across the U.S. and across the globe—and rightfully so. However, deceptively innocent-sounding liquid “natural” gas (LNG), poses a massive threat to our communities’ health, climate, and the economy. And it’s not raising the number of alarm bells that it should.
Fortunately, the Biden-Harris administration understands the heavy impact of this polluting industry and took a historic first step to not only pause approvals on exports of harmful LNG but to open a review process conducted by the Department of Energy (DOE) to update the studies that help determine if new LNG terminals are within the “public interest.” (Shocker, they are not.)
This was huge.
So huge that the exact motley crew of nefarious actors you’d expect—fossil fuel interest groups, Big Polluters, and oil-drenched Republicans—came after the decision. Most recently, in a case of signature MAGA recklessness, a Trump-appointed judge halted the Biden-Harris administration’s LNG pause. And despite this news gaining a flurry of alarmist headlines, the fact remains: DOE still has clear authority to determine that LNG export projects are not in the public interest.
The bad news, however, is this isn’t the last right-wing attack we anticipate on curbing LNG pollution and protecting communities. (Just take the recent pro-LNG antics in Congress from Senator Rubio and Senator Cruz and the Manchin-Barrasso permitting bill.) But that doesn’t mean we have to throw up our hands—there’s still a lot we can and must do. First, DOE has a tremendous opportunity to determine the obvious: New LNG exports are not in the public interest. Second, we, as advocates, also have our work cut out for us via the ballot boxes and beyond. The upcoming election presents a stark fork in the road for what our climate future looks like and what climate policies we will be able to successfully advocate for. Much of what is possible will come down to who sits in the Oval Office—and the paths couldn’t look more different.
