Lawmakers grilled a Biden Administration official last week on the merits of the White House’s ongoing freeze for liquefied natural gas (LNG) permits as new independent studies confirm the clean fuel’s widespread domestic and global benefits.
According to research from international energy data and analytics firm Wood Mackenzie, LNG production from the U.S. is essential to balancing global markets and providing emerging economies – specifically Asia – with an affordable and reliable alternative to the continent’s dominant electricity source, coal.
“Natural gas and LNG provide an opportunity to reduce power-related emissions and coal use, while also ensuring energy security,” Asia Natural Gas & Energy Association (ANGEA) CEO Paul Everingham said of the report.
WoodMac’s findings are one of many independent analyses that have examined the cost and climate implications of the rising LNG market. Berkeley Research Group in April found U.S. LNG has the lowest greenhouse gas emissions intensity for power generation compared to other leading fossil fuel supply chains.
And an in-depth analysis from the Texas Oil and Gas Association (TXOGA) shows LNG exports have “little to no” impact on domestic energy prices, despite the Administration citing consumer costs as a reason for the pause.
With the clear benefits American LNG provides to allies abroad as well as residents at home, it makes one wonder…what was really behind the Administration’s freeze at the beginning of the year?
Members of the U.S. House Oversight & Accountability’s Subcommittee on Energy Policy, Economic Growth and Regulatory Affairs recently held a hearing for White House officials to explain exactly that.
Unfortunately, “the motivations appear to be entirely political,” said Congressman Pat Fallon, who chairs the subcommittee. Notably, he referenced reports that the White House met with activists and internet influencers who were “adamant that the administration take radical steps to address climate change and eliminate fossil fuels.”
Alas, following those discussions, the misguided decision to suspend permit reviews in January 2024 was born, but with resounding backlash from the industry, international allies, the global trade community and even a bipartisan coalition of elected leaders.
“Simply put, by halting new export facilities, the Biden Administration is turning their backs on our foreign allies, forcing them to rely on dirtier energy that could otherwise be replaced by cleaner, American natural gas,” the MSC wrote in a letter to Secretary Granholm alongside the Ohio Oil and Gas Association and the Gas and Oil Association of West Virginia.
“By limiting access to future U.S. natural gas, foreign allies will be reliant on imports from regions that don’t share the same environmental commitments or values as we do.”
Americans – and specifically, Pennsylvanians – saw right through the Administration’s tactics to gin up political support with anti-domestic energy extremists. More than half (58%) of Pennsylvania voters said they opposed the LNG pause, along with Governor Shapiro and U.S. Senators Fetterman and Casey (all Democrats) saying it was ill-advised.
For the U.S. to remain a leader in global energy production and export capacity, which delivers substantial economic, environmental and reliability benefits worldwide, it’s clear this wildly unpopular policy decision must be lifted immediately. Otherwise, the climate and global economy will suffer the consequences.
