This week, the Biden-Harris Administration announced a temporary pause on pending decisions for exports of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). During this period, the Department of Energy will evaluate the impacts of LNG exports on energy costs, America's energy security, and climate change - the existential threat of our time.
Since day one, President Biden has led and delivered on the most ambitious climate agenda in history. The Biden-Harris Administration will continue to lead the way on unprecedented climate action while ensuring the American economy remains the envy of the world.
Leaders from across the country praised the announcement. Here is what they are saying:
Climate and Environmental Justice Leaders
Ben Jealous, Executive Director, Sierra Club: "President Biden and Secretary Granholm's bold step today continues this administration's historic efforts to meet the global commitment to phase out fossil fuels and confront the climate crisis head on. This decision is a major win for communities and advocates that have long spoken out about the dangers of LNG, and makes it clear that the Biden administration is listening to the calls to break America's reliance on dirty fossil fuels and secure a livable future for us all. Strong leadership, that rejects fossil fuel industry fear mongering, is our best bet to protect communities and ensure energy is affordable. It's undeniable that LNG export projects are simply not in the public interest and we are confident that if this review is done right, that would end the rubber-stamping of these projects. The Biden administration is making the right choice on behalf of the planet, our communities, and our national security." [Statement, 1/26/24]
Sierra Club: "HUGE NEWS! @POTUS @SecGranholm have taken bold and historic action to #StopLNG" [Tweet, 1/26/24]
Margie Alt, Director, Climate Action Campaign: "President Biden met this moment on climate, delivering on his promise to slash climate pollution and take measurable steps to protect our environment and future. If the reports are true, this decision to pause the permitting for a massive extracted gas export facility to require the consideration of its climate impacts is exactly the kind of leadership we need from President Biden. Burning more extracted gas makes climate change worse and intensifies extreme weather disasters. Standing up to big polluters and putting people before profits, is what the president promised and what the president is delivering." [Statement, 1/24/24]
Former Vice President Al Gore, Founder, The Climate Reality Project: "World leaders agreed to transition away from fossil fuels at the COP28 climate negotiations last year and President Biden's decision today to pause new permits for LNG exports shows that he is taking that pledge seriously. If we want to enhance energy security, create jobs, and prevent environmental injustice, we should be making investments in cheaper, readily available renewable energy, not dirty and damaging fossil fuels." [Tweet, 1/26/24]
Manish Bapna, President and CEO, Natural Resources Defense Council: "This is the right call. The stakes could not be higher – for the climate, U.S. leadership and our future. The administration needs to pause and get the facts. These are dangerous projects that would lock in decades more dependence on the fossil fuels driving us toward climate catastrophe.
"Let's be clear about the public interest. It's time to phase out fossil fuels. That's what the United States and 197 other countries agreed to do last month in Dubai. That's what the science demands. Vast industrial projects to export these dirty and dangerous fuels far into the future have no place in a climate-safe world […] What's needed is a pause, so the administration can sharpen its tools. We need an open and transparent process for determining how best to assess these critical concerns. The public deserves to be heard on how our government decides whether projects are in the public interest." [Statement, 1/26/24]
Natural Resources Defense Council: "As the Biden administration decides the future of massive new projects that would expand future exports of liquified natural gas, it is pausing a huge swath of new export permits. It's a key step toward phasing out the fossil fuels powering climate change + polluting communities." [Tweet, 1/26/24]
Gene Karpinski, President, League of Conservation Voters: "This is huge. The Biden-Harris administration's decision to take a deeper look at all the impacts of LNG exports is a major step forward towards protecting our families, our communities, and our climate," said LCV President Gene Karpinski. "This decision sends a clear signal that the administration is taking the global commitment reached in December to transition away from fossil fuels seriously. No president has done more on climate, from day one executive orders to the historic investments in the Inflation Reduction Act to today's announcement, President Biden is slashing climate pollution, increasing affordable, renewable energy, and transitioning away from fossil fuels.
Exporting LNG is harmful to our environment, our economy, and our communities. Continuing to allow the massive expansion of this industry would mean even more toxic pollution and higher energy bills for communities across the country who are already overburdened by pollution and energy costs, and would make it nearly impossible for the world to reach its climate goals. Meanwhile Big Oil is willing to say and spend anything to pad their already record profits. Our future must be powered by clean energy, not the polluting, volatile, and unreliable fossil fuels of the past." [Press release, 1/26/24]
League of Conservation Voters: "🚨 BREAKING: @POTUS is freezing CP2 development and delaying approval of new LNG export facilities. This is the most significant action taken by a president to curb fossil fuel expansion. This is a huge win for our planet and people and big defeat for Big Oil! #StopLNG #StopCP2" [Tweet, 1/26/24]
Elida Castillo, Program Director, Chispa Texas: "We thank the Biden-Harris administration for listening to our communities experiencing the devastating impacts of massive oil and gas exports firsthand. This is a hopeful and critical step forward to prioritize people over polluters for our future generations and our communities along the Gulf coast. After record-breaking heat across the country last year, this major action is crucial to combat the climate crisis and environmental injustice, especially for our communities most harmed by toxic pollution from oil and gas extraction. For too long, Big Polluters have been allowed to export more fossil fuels year after year regardless of the cost to communities who are living with even more consequences from toxic pollution, consumers across the country already facing higher costs and unreliable energy sources, and more impacted communities by our reliance on fossil fuels. Despite what Big Oil wants us to believe, renewables are bringing down the energy costs for everyone. This is the path to a more sustainable and equitable clean energy future that stabilizes our economy and supports our domestic energy security." [Statement, 1/26/24]
Abigail Dillen, President, Earthjustice: "We applaud the Biden administration for taking this tremendously important step to align its decision-making on gas exports with U.S. climate goals. As communities across the country face the devastating impacts of the climate crisis and fossil fuel pollution, it's never been clearer that rubber-stamping LNG exports is not in the public interest. We look forward to working with the Department of Energy to make sure that the environmental and economic risks of LNG exports are fully accounted for when it makes public interest determinations." [Statement, 1/26/24]
Earthjustice: "BREAKING: @ENERGY has announced that it will pause export license approvals of liquified gas exports. LNG exports not only pollute communities and drive us deeper into the climate crisis, they also raise energy prices for families." [Tweet, 1/26/24]
Dr. Leah Stokes, Climate and Energy Policy Professor, University of California, Santa Barbara: "Huge news! The White House is delaying the approval of a massive LNG terminal and evaluating the others based on the latest climate science. This is a massive win for people and the planet. Great decision from President Biden!" [Tweet, 1/26/24]
Dr. Genevieve Guenther, Founding Director, End Climate Silence: Oh my god, I am literally in tears right now. Biden is pausing approvals and directing the DOE to expand its evaluation of new liquid methane gas terminals to consider their impact on #ClimateChange. Thank god, thank god." [Tweet, 1/26/24]
Ben Cushing, Fossil-Free Finance Campaign Director, SierraClub: "In the words of
@JoeBiden, this is a BFD! I can't think of a bigger action-or a better statement-that a US President has ever done on the root of the climate crisis: fossil fuel expansion. Thank you @POTUS & the tireless movement that made this happen." [Tweet, 1/26/24]
Laura Jay, North America Regional Director, C40 Cities: "The devastating impacts of climate breakdown are here. Urban residents, and particularly frontline communities, are experiencing the harmful consequences of fossil fuel pollution, from extreme heat and storms to rising energy costs, every day. At COP28, C40 mayors called on national governments to rapidly phase out the use of fossil fuels. In the final agreement, countries agreed to 'transition away' from fossil fuels. Today's action gives life to that promise.
The decision by the Biden Administration today to pause new LNG export facilities is a welcome and necessary recognition of the urgent need to protect the health, safety, and economic well-being of our communities by shifting to a clean energy future. It is a critical step in the global phase-out of fossil fuels and will accelerate the clean energy market both in the United States and around the world." [Statement, 1/26/2024]
Lori Lodes, Executive Director, Climate Power: "President Biden has done more to protect our planet and build a booming clean energy economy that ends our reliance on dirty fossil fuels than any other president in history. The president's action today is a historic move to protect the health and economic security of our nation from corporate polluters and address the global threat of a very real climate crisis. Make no mistake, if it were up to Donald Trump, these dangerous oil and gas projects would be rushed forward - exporting fossil fuels overseas, increasing our energy costs, and spewing toxic pollution. At every turn, MAGA Republicans are working to tie America's future to costly, dangerous and dirty fossil fuels - no matter the price." [Statement, 1/26/24]
Alex Wall, Senior Advisor, Climate Power: "This is HUGE. @POTUS just diffused a carbon bomb and took HISTORIC climate action to halt the approval of dangerous methane gas export facilities. Adding to the most any president has EVER done to fight the climate crisis." [Tweet, 1/26/24]
Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director, Food & Water Watch: "Given the massive volume of LNG currently being exported, and the numerous additional projects already approved and set to come online in coming years, anything less than a permanent halt to further expansion of this deadly industry is unacceptable. Hopefully this pause represents the beginning of the end of fossil fuel exports in America." [Statement, 1/26/24]
WeAct for Environmental Justice: "This necessary and crucial reevaluation on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals with a focus on DOE's public interest determination is a step in the right direction, and we hope that this gives the Administration the space to partner with advocates to fully analyze the impact of the U.S. LNG policy on communities that are burdened with fossil fuel infrastructure and pollution. WE ACT was one of the first environmental justice groups to call for a pause on LNG projects and for the Administration to broaden the scope of the public interest reviews to address cumulative impacts. We have been strong on this front sharing our concerns and expertise with federal agencies, submitting comments, and standing with frontline heroes to make a day like today possible. We are thankful for the coalition of proactive frontline leadership and partnership on the Hill to sound the alarm on this issue.." [Press Release, 1/26/2024]
Roishetta Ozane, Director and Founder, The Vessel Project (Louisiana): "This announcement from the Biden Administration is truly monumental for our communities. As someone who has witnessed the devastating impacts of fossil fuel extractive industries, I am filled with hope and gratitude for this important step towards justice. Halting permits for these industries is a clear acknowledgment of the urgent need to protect the well-being and rights of those of us who have been disproportionately affected. It is a powerful statement that we can no longer allow these industries to continue operating without considering the health and safety of the people living in these areas. However, it is crucial to remember that this is just the beginning of a long journey.
While this decision is a significant victory, we must not become complacent. The fight for environmental justice and the elimination of fossil fuel extractive industries must continue. We must remain vigilant and continue to advocate for sustainable alternatives. We cannot afford to let up in our efforts to hold decision-makers accountable and ensure that frontline communities are no longer subjected to the harmful effects of these industries. This announcement is a reason to celebrate, but it is also a reminder that our work is far from over." [Statement, 1/26/24]
Roishetta Ozane, Founder and Founder, The Vessel Project (Louisiana): "Thank you @ENERGY @SecGranholm @POTUS for listening to us. This has been a tireless fight. And we know it's not over. There is so much work to be done. But this is a monumental start." [Tweet, 1/26/24]
Anne Rolfes, Director, Louisiana Bucket Brigade: "The fishermen of south Louisiana are facing extinction from the gas export industry. We are happy about the reported pause. Gas exports from the coast of Louisiana are disastrous for our fishermen, our country and our climate." [Statement, 1/26/24]
Ebony Twilley-Martin, Executive Director, Greenpeace USA: "Today, we celebrate an incredible win that rests squarely in the hands of people living on the frontlines, who have been fighting this nightmare tirelessly for years. With this delay, President Biden is demonstrating that the United States can and will transition away from dirty oil and gas. It's a remarkable step that defines the stakes in the upcoming election." [Statement, 1/26/24]
Carmen Gravatt, International Program Director, Greenpeace International: "We're pleased to see the U.S. give a lifeline to the climate by making this sensible decision to halt all new LNG export project approvals, which will affect infrastructure projects like the CP2 carbon bomb. If the US is serious about honoring its commitments under the Paris agreement, this pause needs to become permanent. Global climate bodies have long been warning us that if we want to achieve net zero by 2050 and secure a peaceful and livable planet we must stop new oil and gas. Despite what the industry might have you believe, LNG is dirty polluting fossil fuel that is contributing to the climate emergency - our biggest existential threat - and it needs to be stopped. LNG is not a transition fuel, and the US does not need new gas production facilities, LNG terminals and exports, and importing geographies like the EU don't need its gas. The best way to secure a safe global energy system, and avert the climate crisis, is to supercharge the rollout of renewables like solar and wind and increase efforts at demand reduction and energy efficiency." [Statement, 1/26/24]
Lauren Parker, Attorney, Center for Biological Diversity: "Tapping the brakes on CP2 is the best signal yet that the Biden administration is ready to put people and the planet over fossil fuel profiteers. This is a crucial moment to protect future generations by halting the biggest fossil fuel expansion on Earth. Now that the administration is listening to frontline communities, youth and climate advocates fighting for a livable planet, it needs to go all in on phasing out fossil fuels. We need a public interest test that denies any fossil fuel expansion that would drive us deeper into climate catastrophe and violate U.S. commitments to transition away from fossil fuels." [Statement, 1/26/24]
