In win for climate advocates Biden to pause decision on LNG Exports – CanaryMedia

The Biden administration is expected to postpone its decision on whether to approve a major proposed liquefied-natural-gas export facility until it can more thoroughly study the project’s impacts on the climate and the American public, The New York Times reported Wednesday. If built, the Calcasieu Pass 2 project in Louisiana, better known as CP2, would be the biggest LNG export terminal in the United States.

The delay marks a significant break from precedent for the Biden Department of Energy, which until now had followed in the footsteps of the Trump and Obama administrations in approving every complete LNG export application it considered. President Biden said almost two years ago that he believed the buildout of LNG export capacity could be ​“consistent with, not in conflict with, the net-zero climate goal that we’re shooting for.”

But over the last few months, pressure has been mounting on Biden to rethink his stance.

Since the country’s first LNG export terminal opened in 2016, the share of U.S. natural gas shipped overseas has risen from virtually nothing to more than 10%. There are eight export terminals in operation along the U.S. coastline, with another 24 terminals and expansions under construction, approved or proposed. CP2 alone would be capable of liquefying about 4% of the consumer-grade natural gas that was produced in the U.S. in 2022.

Wednesday’s reported pivot comes amid a burgeoning campaign from environmental and taxpayer groups and Democratic members of Congress pushing the administration to consider the growing body of research refuting the purported climate benefits of natural gas — especially LNG — and apply more scrutiny to the terminals’ climate, environmental-justice and economic impacts. Opponents of the LNG buildout have likened the new campaign to the movement that stopped the Keystone XL pipeline.

Climate activists have called CP2 a ​“carbon bomb,” warning that if the buildout of LNG export infrastructure is allowed to continue unchecked, it could quickly push U.S. climate goals out of reach.