Lindsay Stafford Mader, lindsay.mader@sierraclub.org
Austin, TX – Yesterday, 16 attorneys general, including Texas AG Ken Paxton, filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration over the recently announced pause on approvals of new gas exports, known as LNG. The temporary pause gives the Department of Energy time to update the old studies it uses to determine the impacts of increasing LNG exports, something the agency is required to do under the Natural Gas Act. The pause only applies to proposed LNG projects that have not yet received permits from DOE, and the U.S. is still the No. 1 LNG exporter in the world.
Gas exports – and the fracking and pipeline projects they require – warm the climate, pollute and threaten Texas communities, disrupt local fishing and tourism economies that depend on healthy ecosystems, and drive up domestic gas prices. Yet, DOE has historically rubber-stamped all LNG export applications it considers.
The pause could mean that millions of Texans and people in neighboring states benefit from a more thorough permitting process, yet the attorneys general are focused on helping an industry that has been a large source of funding. Texas AG Ken Paxton, for example, recently accepted over $1 million in donations from oil and gas billionaires, and his ally Gov. Greg Abbott received over $12 million from the oil and gas industry last election.
In response, Sierra Club advocates issued the following statements:
“People around the state – from West Texas to the Gulf – are suffering from a complete lack of protection of their environment and their health,” said Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter Director Dave Cortez. “Meanwhile Ken Paxton and these AG politicians across the South are not actually trying to save jobs and aren’t concerned if you’re breathing dirty air that makes you sick, drives up your health care costs, and warms our planet. They’re trying to prop up their billionaire friends who help keep them in office. But make no mistake, everyday Texans won’t stand down and will continue to organize in defense of our land, our health, and our families.”
“This lawsuit is misguided and lacks understanding of what the pause actually is,” said Sierra Club Senior Attorney Nathan Matthews. “The U.S. is the world’s largest exporter of LNG, and this pause does nothing to disrupt the already massive amount of US-sourced methane gas being sent all over the world, regardless of the destination or the harm these exports have on Gulf South communities and domestic energy consumers. The federal government is simply evaluating whether or not new and expanded gas exports are in the public interest, as required, and it’s hard to imagine how anyone who is not in the pocket of the fossil fuel industry would object to that.”
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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.