Larisa Manescu, larisa.manescu@sierraclub.org
Thousands of people are in Washington, DC this week demanding that President Biden declare a climate emergency and stop fossil fuel projects. The People vs. Fossil Fuels week of action, which has included hundreds of arrests each day, is being led by Indigenous leaders and representatives from frontline communities from fossil fuel fights across the nation, including the struggle against oil and gas drilling on Indigenous lands; fights against the Mountain Valley Pipeline, Line 3, Dakota Access, Mariner East and other pipelines; struggles to stop oil and gas export facilities, refineries, petrochemical plants; and more.
There are currently over 20 gas export facilities proposed for the Gulf Coast, many of which would impact communities of color in Texas and Louisiana. Despite the Biden administration’s stated commitments to environmental justice and climate action, the administration has signalled a troubling openness to fracked gas exports, particularly if the proposed facilities include carbon capture and storage (CCS).
When it comes to LNG, CCS is an unproven and costly technology, being touted by the fossil fuel industry to justify more investments in gas infrastructure. In reality, it is a false solution. Massive amounts of methane and carbon pollution would still be emitted in the extraction, transportation, and eventual combustion of the gas overseas. CCS will do nothing to reduce emissions, and every dollar invested in it is a dollar we are not investing in real climate solutions.
Gulf Coast communities are still recovering from the impacts of yet another hurricane. President Biden traveled to impacted communities after Hurricane Ida made landfall and delivered the message that the climate crisis is making these storms worse and more frequent. But unless the Biden administration backs up these statements with real action, they will remain mere talking points and provide no real relief for communities that continue to suffer from climate disaster after climate disaster.
LNG projects proposed across the Gulf Coast are legally vulnerable and dangerous to local communities. They are also a risky financial investment. The latest version of the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook, released yesterday, states that new LNG export facilities are likely to become stranded assets, making them financial liabilities in the amount of an estimated $75 billion. Additionally, the new report backs up what Gulf Coast residents already know to be true: Because of their geographic location, proposed LNG terminals would be heavily exposed to risks from increasingly severe, climate change-driven storm surges.
These projects would devastate local economies, subject families to dangerous pollution, and worsen the climate crisis. Local communities have been organizing against these proposed facilities for years. We cannot afford to lock in decades of continued fossil fuel production. President Biden’s climate legacy will be determined by his administration’s willingness to listen to local residents most impacted and put a stop to these fracked gas projects.
For more information or interviews with experts or impacted community-members, contact: Larisa Manescu, larisa.manescu@sierraclub.org
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.