McClellan: New Liquified Fossil Gas Licenses Not In Public Interest

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan and U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), along with Representatives Nanette Barragán (D-CA-44) and Jared Huffman (D-CA-02), sent a bicameral letter along with over 60 of their colleagues to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) urging the agency to update how it determines if new licenses for liquified natural gas (LNG) exports to non-free, U.S. trade countries are in the public interest. The letter highlights concerns that DOE’s current approach to making these determinations does not fully or accurately consider how these exports impact the climate, environmental justice, or domestic energy prices.

The lawmaker’s letter comes just as Data For Progress and Fossil Free Media released a new polling report finding voters are in strong support of limiting natural gas exports “by a 2-to-1 margin and want to see new export facilities paused until the proper reviews are completed.”

The letter highlights that DOE has never rejected an LNG export application on the basis of negative impacts to the American people and urges meaningful consideration of the costs to the climate and consumers when reviewing new export licenses. 

“U.S. LNG exports have doubled over the past four years, and projects currently under development are set to almost double exports again. DOE’s case-by-case approach to approvals ignores the aggregate impact that the explosive growth in U.S. LNG exports is having on climate, communities, and our economy,” the lawmakers write. 

The lawmakers’ letter comes as DOE is approving LNG exports—and, as the lawmakers note, “scientific reports, including a recent peer reviewed study from Brown University and RMI, have found that natural gas can be as bad for the climate as coal, when only small methane leaks are factored in.”

The lawmakers strongly encourage DOE to develop an approach that is informed by the latest climate and economic analysis, and which is transparent and open for public comment. “By exacerbating climate change, LNG exports also pose a threat to environmental justice at home and abroad, because the impacts of climate change fall most heavily on low-income communities and communities of color,” wrote the lawmakers. 

“Finally, LNG exports drive up household energy burdens across the country, a key issue for all of our constituents. The EIA found that ‘higher LNG exports create a tighter domestic natural gas market … increasing domestic natural gas prices’ and this link was on clear display when an explosion at Freeport LNG sent domestic gas prices plummeting and its restart caused them to rise sharply again,” they continued. 

With the Department’s anticipated decision on the CP2 export application, a proposal to create one of the largest LNG terminals ever, the stakes could not be higher.

“No public interest determination will be viewed as credible unless the perspectives of the public are heard, understood, and reflected in DOE’s decision on CP2 and across the board,” the letter concludes.

In addition to Representatives McClellan, Barragán, and Huffman, the letter is signed by Representatives Alma Adams (D-NC-12), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-03), Julia Brownley (D-CA-26), Greg Casar (D-TX-35), Sean Casten (D-IL-06), Yvette Clarke (D-NY-09), Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO-05), Steve Cohen (D-TN-09), Jasmine Crockett (D-TX-30), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA-10), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY-13), Daniel Goldman (D-NY-10), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-07), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA-37), Ann Kuster (D-NH-02), Barbara Lee (D-CA-12), Mike Levin (D-CA-49), Seth Magaziner (D-RI-02), James McGovern (D-MA-02), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-12), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14), Chellie Pingree (D-ME-01), Katie Porter (D-CA-47), Jamie Raskin (D-MD-08), Janice Schakowsky (D-IL-09), Robert Scott (D-VA-03), Mark Takano (D-CA-39), Shri Thanedar (D-MI-13), Dina Titus (D-NV-01), Paul Tonko (D-NY-20), Ritchie Torres (D-NY-15), Juan Vargas (D-CA-52), Nydia Velázquez (D-NY-07), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12), Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ-07), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC-AT LARGE), Antonio Cardenas (D-CA-29), Ro Khanna (D-CA-17), Delia Ramirez (D-IL-03), Sara Jacobs (D-CA-51), Dwight Evans (D-PA-03), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-01), Frederica Wilson (D-FL-24), Kathy Castor (D-FL-14), Jesús Garcia (D-IL-04), Andrea Salinas (D-OR-06), Judy Chu (D-CA-28), Betty McCollum (D-MN-04), Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05), Summer Lee (D-PA-12), and Val Hoyle (D-OR-04).

In addition to Senator Merkley, this letter is also cosigned by Senators Jack Reed (D-RI), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Brian Schatz (D-HI).

Full text of the letter can be found here.