US President Joe Biden on Friday announced a moratorium on building new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals, citing the “climate threat”, in a setback for a budding industry.
“This pause in LNG (terminal) permits recognizes what the climate crisis really is: an existential threat,” the American leader wrote in a statement.
The announcement comes as the presidential campaign is in full swing.
A personal confrontation between Joe Biden, who notably pushed through a massive plan to finance the energy transition in 2022, and Donald Trump, who, despite a scientific consensus, questions the very principle of global warming, seems inevitable.
“MAGA+ Republicans (Donald Trump's slogan) deny the urgency of the climate crisis and condemn the American people to a dangerous future. “My government will not remain passive,” said Joe Biden. “We will not give in to special interests.”
“As exports increase, we must review export applications in light of the latest economic, environmental and national security analyses,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a conference call.
Buoyed by the increase in shale gas production, the United States is already the world's leading exporter of LNG for the first half of 2023, according to data from the international organization Cedigaz.
According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), there are already seven LNG export terminals operating in the US, handling approximately 328 million cubic meters per day.
Delivery to Europe
No new export permits will be issued until the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) updates its analysis of each project, Granholm said.
Updating the eligibility criteria is likely to take several months, according to an American official.
According to the same source, four files currently under review by the Department of Energy are currently affected by the suspension.
Other projects are in progress but have not yet been submitted to the ministry and will not be submitted to it during the moratorium.
According to the minister, the new terminals being prepared are expected to increase the United States' export capacity to 1.35 billion cubic meters per day.
Anticipating a moratorium, which was mentioned by several American media outlets, the environmental group Sierra Club estimated that such a decision “would represent a positive and significant change in policy.”
In early December, on the sidelines of the COP28 climate conference, more than 250 environmental organizations and groups called on Joe Biden to stop approving new LNG terminals, recalling that natural gas is a polluting fossil energy.
In a letter to Jennifer Granholm on Thursday, several US energy representatives called on the secretary to waive this moratorium.
In particular, they argued that the natural gas industry creates jobs in the United States and makes it possible to ensure supplies to Europe, which has been cut off from Russian gas since the embargo that followed the invasion of Ukraine.
According to the White House, about half of LNG exports went to Europe last year.
The moratorium “would weaken the credibility of the United States and endanger American jobs,” the group argued.
“We need to better understand market needs, long-term demand and supply, and environmental factors,” argued Jennifer Granholm, who assured that projects already approved would not be subject to re-examination.
“Our current or short-term offer will not be affected by this,” emphasized the manager.
“We are committed to strengthening the energy security of the United States and our allies,” she said, and “protecting Americans from climate change while advancing the transition to clean energy.”