The Biden administration has halted the approval of new licenses to export US liquefied natural gas (LNG), as reported by Reuters on January 26. During the pause, the Department of Energy (DOE) will conduct a new review on the economic and environmental impacts of projects seeking approval to export LNG to Europe and Asia. According to a statement by President Joe Biden, the administration will look at the impacts of LNG exports on energy costs, America’s energy security, and the environment. The suspension is likely to delay approvals of new LNG export facilities until after the November 5 presidential election, potentially disrupting plans for multi-billion-dollar LNG projects.

The move intensifies the debate over LNG’s role in the energy transition course worldwide. Advocates view natural gas as a transitional fuel for developing countries to move away from coal towards clean energy. Besides, the increased US LNG shipment to Europe following the Russian invasion of Ukraine also helped EU countries reduce their reliance on Russian gas supplies. Nevertheless, environmentalists contend that the enormous infrastructure needed for LNG transportation would result in global reliance on fossil fuels for decades, slowing down the shift to renewable energy. The US has witnessed a drastic increase in LNG export capacity since the last review of LNG export projects in 2018. Government data shows that total carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from all seven US LNG export facilities reached 17.6 million tons in 2022, surging 81% from 2019 levels.

Sources：

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/biden-pauses-approval-new-lng-export-projects-win-climate-activists-2024-01-26/

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-26/biden-freezes-approvals-to-export-gas-imperiling-major-projects?srnd=green

https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/how-shipping-more-us-natural-gas-europe-helped-fuel-c02-pollution-2023-11-08/