It’s not Biden’s first good
move on methane: he has signed onto international
efforts to combat that pollutant, and in December, the Environmental
Protection Agency announced a new rule reducing permissible methane from the
oil and gas industry. Biden’s move on LNG permitting, however, represents a
shift in emphasis for the White House—which has tried very hard not to come
across as anti-fossil-fuel—and shows that this administration can be moved on
climate, especially this year, with young voters so crucial to the president’s
re-election.
The decision puts on ice four
projects with export permits pending, such as Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass 2
(C2), in Louisiana, which has been loudly opposed by Gulf Coast activists,
including those in indigenous and other fishing communities. C2 had been slated
to become the largest LNG project in the country.
Activists have been fighting against
LNG at both a local level—from the Gulf
Coast to the West Coast to Brooklyn—as
well as nationally. Biden’s latest move is the result of this sustained
pressure, but had Biden not made this decision, activists were planning
massive protests in Washington, D.C. this month against LNG. And despite this
latest development, organizing will continue around the country. People are
showing up to town halls, writing their elected officials, and protesting both
the local environmental and health risks of LNG installations and the global
risks to the climate.