Biden Should Prioritize the Climate Emergency, Not LNG Profits, at G7 Meeting

The G7 (Group of Seven) Ministers' Meeting on Climate, Energy and Environment is meeting today, bringing together the world's seven wealthiest nations. The cost of the climate emergency that is once again tipping the scales out of favor for BIPOC communities—and especially women of color—should take precedence at the meeting, but this is unlikely. Instead, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) lobbyists are making LNG a major trade priority to increase their profits and prop up the fossil fuel industry.

Lip service and empty climate pledges will likely be the payout for communities like mine that will be most harmed by LNG.

As a 15 year-old Indian living in Prosper, Texas, fossil fuel infrastructure is an insurmountable weight on that scale. My work with Action for the Climate Emergency (ACE) as an Action Team member informs me of the numerous fossil fuel projects in my state. New fossil fuel infrastructure continues to be approved and erected, signaling to my generation that profit supersedes people and the planet. Liquified Natural Gas plagues my home state of Texas and threatens to undermine the struggles many Texans face due to climate change-caused disasters.

LNG is natural gas cooled to -259℉ in order to transport it overseas. The process is extremely energy intensive and produces more than double the greenhouse gas emissions as regular natural gas.There are several LNG ports in Texas, including but not limited to Golden Pass, Freeport, Port Arthur, Rio Grande, and Corpus Christi. Considering how Texas failed to weatherize our power grid during the Winter Storm of 2021 that left millions without access to electricity, we need to focus on building out clean, renewable energy, not propping up the fossil fuel industry.

Everyone should make an effort to participate in climate action, and the attempt to reach equality for all. We must stand collectively and demand action on the climate emergency from those in power.

Women and BIPOC communities get the short end of the stick. According to an EPA analysis released in 2021, “the most severe harms from climate change fall disproportionately upon underserved communities who are least able to prepare for, and recover from, heat waves, poor air quality, flooding, and other impacts.” As a result of the gender and racial pay gap, said underserved communities tend to mainly consist of women of color. With less preparation and relief funds, these communities will be hit the hardest by disasters caused by climate change.

For instance, some of the largest oil refineries in the U.S. as well as two LNG export facilities lie in a town in Texas named Port Arthur— a majority-Black community. The air pollution they live in has caused higher cancer rates, and their position on the coast leaves them more vulnerable to water-based natural disasters. This only continues and amplifies during disaster relief efforts. That, too, is barring the effects on women caused by rising tensions and tempers as a result of climate change. UN Women explains that “As climate change drives conflict across the world, women and girls face increased vulnerabilities to all forms of gender-based violence, including conflict-related sexual violence, human trafficking, child marriage, and other forms of violence.”

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its synthesis of its Sixth Assessment Report and it is disheartening and infuriating, to say the least. As a result of the actions of those who can make the biggest difference, my generation now faces an uncertain and dangerous future. On March 13th, President Biden approved the Willow Project, an oil-drilling venture in Alaska. While Biden campaigned on transitioning the US to clean energy and cutting our fossil fuel emissions in half by 2030, he subsequently broke his promises by approving one of the largest fossil fuel projects during his tenure.

At the rate we are moving with the approvals of new projects detrimental to the environment, that goal is just moving further away from reach. It’s more than just the Willow Project; various projects for LNG ports or other oil drilling sites are being approved, such as the Sea Port Oil Terminal. We cannot trust the promises of better futures any longer, not when those in power are so blatantly breaking them.

The future of Earth is left to us youth, us women. Everyone should make an effort to participate in climate action, and the attempt to reach equality for all. We must stand collectively and demand action on the climate emergency from those in power. That’s what other women leaders in history have taught us.