A mighty chorus of congressional Democrats, business leaders and Republicans, as well as international allies are calling on President Joe Biden to reverse the pause he imposed on liquefied natural gas exports. They almost unanimously say his decision undermines his climate agenda, threatens national security, strengthens the position of Russia and Iran, and creates a schism with allies who rely on tidy U.S. energy to fuel their countries.
Longtime Democratic Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan admitted in a post on X that holding the House was a “major political issue that the D Party just got on the wrong side of” and would hurt his party’s ability to win seats in the Midwest’s Great Lakes region .
Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman and Bob Casey Jr. said in a joint statement to the Washington Examiner that, as senators representing the second-largest natural gas-producing state, they intend to urge Biden to reverse his decision.
“The industry has created well-paying energy jobs in cities and communities across the Commonwealth and has played a key role in promoting U.S. energy independence,” the statement said. They said the immediate impact on Pennsylvania remains to be seen, but they have deep concerns about the long-term impact of this interruption on thousands of jobs in Pennsylvania’s natural gas industry.
On January 26, the Biden administration announced it was pausing approval of novel licenses to export U.S. LNG so it could continue to investigate how these supplies allegedly contribute to climate change.
The decision was immediately seen as a gesture to support youthful people and climate activists ahead of the November election, especially when Biden admitted that his decision was based on “listening to the calls of young people.” He alleged that “MAGA Republicans… willfully deny the urgency of the climate crisis.”
Mary Landrieu, a Democrat who was a U.S. senator from Louisiana and is now a senior policy adviser at Van Ness Feldman, an energy, environmental and land utilize firm, said as a Biden supporter that she was deeply disappointed by his decision to several reasons.
“I think politically this is a bad move for our economy and it undermines the president’s climate initiatives,” she said.
Landrieu said that while Biden’s work on passing the CHIPS Act and the infrastructure bill laid the groundwork for an industrial renaissance in the United States, “this action undermines that entire effort. … This is because natural gas is the only scalable, low-cost, low-carbon fuel or base fuel available to build this economy.”
Landrieu noted that the country does not have enough nuclear or hydropower to facilitate this: “And while wind and solar are coming more often, and we are excited about this progress, they are not sufficient nor do they operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” she said.
“There is an international aspect because this interruption undermines our national security and sends completely the wrong message to our allies around the world that we are reconsidering the promise we made to them,” she added.
On Tuesday, Ken Saito, Japan’s minister of economy, trade and industry, told a news conference that Japan plans to lobby against Washington’s move. He said LNG was crucial to his country’s long-term energy supply. Japan is the second largest consumer of liquefied natural gas in the world and one of several of our allies whose energy source is the American market.
Landrieu also said the LNG supply cuts undermine the U.S. government’s promise to aid Europe wean itself off Russian gas in the wake of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine.
“This market is being created… it can help us lower our emissions not only because it is profitable, not only because it is good for our national security, but it is responsible for lowering national emissions. And when we displace international coal, we lower global emissions,” she said.
She then added, “And it certainly doesn’t make sense for the politics of Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan.”
Toby Rice, CEO of EQT, the largest natural gas producer in the United States, also expressed frustration with Biden’s decision.
“Stopping LNG stops emissions reductions in this world because cutting LNG means more carbon. More carbon means more emissions. It’s that elementary,” he explained, adding: “It’s ironic that it was done with the intention that it would be for the climate, but this action actually represents a substantial step back when it comes to the climate.”
He also said: “Renewables alone cannot do the job and a high-impact solution is needed. Well, that heavyweight solution, that heavyweight partner is LNG, (but) this executive order rolls back the climate movement.”
Rice said the schedule is intended to address future facilities that are not yet permitted. “This sends a chilling signal to any investor considering making investments that will ensure the world’s energy security,” he said, adding: “Limiting LNG will reduce our energy security.”
Marty Durbin, president of the Global Energy Institute at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, called Biden’s pause “an unforced error on the part of the president and the administration.”
“To try to address this issue now has been a complete success, and our ability to deliver this natural gas to our allies, lower emissions around the world and increase energy security makes no sense,” he said.
He pointed to another Democratic senator, Chris Coons of Biden’s home state of Delaware, who said “we have to be really careful about this.”
“He understands that, and so do many other Democrats who look at us and say, ‘Why is this happening?’” Durbin said.
Landrieu said this was Biden’s political mistake. “And look, I’ve made mistakes in politics before, believe me, I could talk to you for hours about the mistakes I’ve made. So no one is perfect,” she said. But she added: “Biden’s move is like throwing a match into a bale of hay.”
