Shannon Van Hoesen, shannon.vanhoesen@sierraclub.org
Washington, DC - Today, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission voted to approve Venture Global’s gas export facility, CP2 LNG, despite clear evidence the facility will contribute to harm to the local community, climate, and nationwide energy price spikes and volatility.
CP2 will need approval from the Department of Energy before it can begin exporting to countries without free trade agreements, which represent roughly 90% of the global LNG market. DOE has paused approvals for those licenses until it updates the studies on the full impacts of LNG exports to determine whether projects are in the public interest. No major LNG terminal has ever reached a final investment decision or started construction without this critical export authorization. Even with this FERC authorization, CP2 cannot begin construction until it receives all other requisite permits, including an air permit pending with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.
The vote was 2-1, with Commissioner Allison Clements delivering a strong dissent to the project in her last meeting of her term as commissioner, noting that FERC failed to account for the project’s harms and improperly relied on Venture Global’s air quality data rather than completing a thorough independent analysis and allowing the public to weigh in.
Proposed by Venture Global, CP2 LNG is estimated to have lifecycle annual greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to about 20 times the annual emissions of the Willow Project, more than 42 million gas-powered cars, or 46 coal-fired power plants. The facility would be located adjacent to the existing Venture Global Calcasieu Pass LNG facility and two miles from the proposed Commonwealth LNG facility. CP2 is sited for an area that has more low-income residents than 88% of the country.
The 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.
In reaction, Sierra Club Beyond Dirty Fuels Director Cathy Collentine released the following statement:
“Venture Global is a bad actor in the energy space and FERC is enabling them to start another disastrous project that puts polluters over people. CP2 is an environmental justice, climate, and economic disaster waiting to happen and with this decision, FERC has ignored the harm that will be caused by CP2 - and gas exports more broadly - and sided with the greedy fossil fuel industry. FERC has acknowledged the need to do more to protect overburdened communities from the environmental injustices of fossil fuel expansion, but it will take more than lip service, and this approval is a clear step in the wrong direction. We will not stop fighting to protect people from gas exports and will continue our work to ensure CP2 never gets built despite this devastating setback.
“While this decision gets Venture Global one step closer to construction, there are still more barriers for CP2. FERC’s decision to rubber stamp this disastrous project makes it even more important that DOE get it right as it updates the studies used to make a public interest determination for gas exports. CP2 is not in the public interest.”
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