Ben Cushing
President Biden has made great strides to reduce the nation’s reliance on fossil fuels and spur investment in a clean, renewable energy future. That clean energy future is under threat as Trump promises to stop, or even reverse, the important progress made in the last four years.
There are just a few short months left for President Biden to take bold action on fossil fuels and secure his legacy as a climate champion.
The Department of Energy is planning to issue its updated studies for the review of gas export applications and complete a public comment period by the end of President Biden’s term.
And just last week, at the start of the annual, global climate conference COP, the White House announced the finalization of the Waste Emissions Charge, a key component of the administration’s plan to reduce harmful methane pollution and protect communities.
But there is still more to do.
Here are some of the meaningful actions President Biden and his administration can take to combat the climate crisis and hold the fossil fuel industry accountable:
- Reject CP2 LNG and the proposed expansion of harmful gas exports, known as LNG
The sprawling CP2 LNG project, proposed by Venture Global, is estimated to have lifecycle annual greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to more than 42 million gas-powered cars, or 46 coal-fired power plants. The facility would be located in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, an area that has more low-income residents than 88% of the country.
CP2 would be adjacent to the existing Venture Global Calcasieu Pass LNG facility and two miles from the proposed Commonwealth LNG facility. Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass facility has already exposed the surrounding community to dangerous air pollution well in excess of permit limits in over 130 incidents since it began operations in 2022. Fishermen have reported a dramatic impact on their livelihoods since the commencement of Calcasieu Pass operations, highlighting the severe negative impact of gas exports on the local economy and environment.
DOE should deny CP2 and the five additional pending LNG export authorizations to stop the unfettered buildout of gas exports that increase energy prices, and harm communities.
President Biden and DOE can stop CP2 LNG and other pending LNG projects right NOW by rejecting these gas export applications.
- Stop the dangerous practice of LNG-by-rail
The shipment of LNG-by-rail is highly hazardous because a single accident could result in flammable leaks, choking vapor clouds, explosions, and uncontrollable fires. Just 22 train cars of liquefied natural gas hold the equivalent energy of the Hiroshima bomb. Communities near LNG by rail shipping tracks vigorously oppose the practice.
In 2023, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, part of the Department of Transportation, suspended a Trump-era rule that authorized the transport of LNG-by-rail.
PHMSA should make the suspension permanent.
- Shut Down the Illegal and Dangerous Dakota Access Pipeline
Many will remember the high-profile encampment that galvanized hundreds of thousands of people around the world in protest of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Construction of DAPL was halted by President Obama, but that decision was overturned by President Trump. Still, the pipeline was never issued a permit and the pipeline has been illegally transporting oil since 2017. While the major protests have fallen out of the headlines, the Standing Rock Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes have not stopped fighting.
President Biden could stop the unpermitted transport of oil through DAPL by urging the Army Corps of Engineers to deny the permit by choosing No Action Alternative 2 in the Environmental Impact Statement they have prepared. This would shut down the dangerous, controversial pipeline that threatens water and sacred tribal lands.
- Stop attempts to fast track oil and gas infrastructure permitting
- Now more than ever, we need the Army Corps to conduct a robust environmental review of all oil and gas infrastructure projects. Eliminating short cuts and loopholes to these processes will help protect communities and our climate for years to come.
Trump and his climate change-denying allies will do everything they can to fast track and rubberstamp dirty and dangerous fossil fuels. Sierra Club and our partners will not back down and will fight to protect our communities. We are urging President Biden to do everything his administration can to take bold action and solidly his climate legacy.
You can urge President Biden to act on climate before leaving office.