Energy Department Urged to Reject Pending Liquified Natural Gas Export Permits

More than 250 groups called on the Department of Energy today to reject pending liquified natural gas, or LNG, export permits. The move comes after a federal judge lifted the hold on LNG exports but did not mandate new approvals.

Proponents of fossil fuel expansion are using the ruling to push for more LNG approvals, citing in part a need to support United States allies in Europe. But European consumption of LNG is at a 10-year low, expected to peak in 2025, and several LNG export facilities unaffected by the pause are already under construction. Meanwhile the federal government acknowledges worsening climate change as a threat to national security.

“After the hottest summer on record, on track to be the hottest year, it’s clear that expanding climate-heating gas exports is not in the public interest,” said Lauren Parker, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute. “There’s no reason on Earth to approve more LNG exports that lock in decades of damage to the climate, human communities, and imperiled species like Rice’s whales. The Department of Energy must reject every single one.”

Global gas production was projected to have begun declining in the last few years. But the U.S. fracking boom reversed this trend, making it harder for the world to transition away from fossil fuels in time to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The energy-intensive process of exporting LNG, along with methane leaks along the supply chain, may make it more climate-harming than coal. Exporting LNG also has devastating consequences for people and nature on the Gulf Coast exposed to flaring, toxic air pollution, and other environmental harms.

“As a mom living in a community surrounded by industry, I feel the weight of every decision made about our environment,” said Roishetta Ozane, founder and director of the Vessel Project. “With climate-induced disasters becoming a regular part of our lives, it’s hard to understand how anyone can prioritize fossil gas exports over our health and safety. The Department of Energy has the power to reject these LNG export permits, and it’s crucial they do so. We deserve a future that protects our families and our planet, not one that fuels further destruction.”