Gabby Brown, gabby.brown@sierraclub.org
The Biden administration is reportedly in talks with European Union leaders about expanding the supply of US-produced gas to Europe as the EU looks to end its reliance on Russian gas. Details of a deal remain unclear, but the administration has been under pressure from the fossil fuel industry in recent weeks to limit environmental review and provide public financing in the form of tax credits, loans, and other subsidies to accelerate the construction of a massive planned expansion of gas export facilities along the Gulf Coast.
These facilities, 16 of which already have the necessary federal permits and yet have not started construction or reached final investment decisions due to legal challenges and market uncertainties, would lock in export and use of fossil fuels for decades. There is growing opposition from Gulf Coast communities against the expansion of fossil fuels exports, due to environmental justice and climate concerns.
New gas export facilities take on average four years to come online and will not solve any short term energy needs in the EU. A new study, released today by the independent climate change think tank E3G, finds that clean energy solutions can replace the vast majority of Russian gas imports by 2025, and that the “substitution” effect from Russian gas to other sources is expected to decline sharply after 2025, meaning that additional import or other gas infrastructure will face rapidly declining utilization.
Kelly Sheehan, Sierra Club Senior Director of Energy Campaigns, released the following statement:
"Proponents of expanded LNG exports are cynically trying to capitalize on the current crisis and use it to justify a massive, long-term expansion of fossil fuel development and exports, but the Biden administration should not take the bait.
“Make no mistake, the solutions the fossil fuel industry is proposing right now wouldn't help anyone but themselves. Allowing for the expansion of new and expanded pipelines and gas export facilities, which wouldn't come online for years, would do nothing to help Europe in the short term and would only line the pockets of fossil fuel executives and lock in reliance on risky, volatile fossil fuels for decades to come. As long as we rely on volatile global commodities like oil and gas, we’ll always be vulnerable to geopolitics and the whims of greedy fossil fuel executives. To achieve true energy independence, we must rapidly transition to affordable clean energy, not double down on risky fossil fuels.”
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.