Casten Introduces Legislation to Require the Consideration of Climate Impacts for New LNG Export Terminals
Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Congressman Sean Casten (IL-06) introduced the LNG Public Interest Determination Act of 2024, legislation to require the Department of Energy to examine impacts on climate stability, consumer energy costs, and environmental justice when considering permits for new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals.
“When we ship LNG exports overseas, it raises the cost of energy for American consumers. It leaks so much that it might not be any less damaging to the climate than the coal it’s replacing. And it causes health and environmental consequences for communities along the way,” said Rep. Casten. “Unfortunately, it’s not clear whether these factors are currently considered when determining whether a new LNG export terminal is in the national interest. The LNG Public Interest Determination Act remedies this.”
Construction of large LNG facilities takes years to complete and costs billions of dollars. The entire process of exporting LNG - from extracting natural gas from the earth to cooling the gas until it becomes a liquid to shipping it across the ocean to another country - requires a tremendous amount of energy. The process produces carbon dioxide emissions, as well as unintentional releases of methane, a global warming pollutant eighty times more potent than carbon dioxide.
The LNG Public Interest Act amends the Natural Gas Act, which currently mandates that companies that want to export natural gas must get authorization to do so from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). While the Natural Gas Act directs DOE to evaluate applications to export LNG to non-Free Trade Agreement countries, it does not provide adequate guidance for making that evaluation. The LNG Public Interest Determination Act fills in the blanks.
The LNG Public Interest Determination Act requires DOE to more strictly assess whether a proposed LNG facility is consistent with the public interest. Before authorization is granted, the legislation requires DOE to determine that a new LNG export terminal would not likely contribute significantly to climate change, materially increase energy prices or energy price volatility for US consumers, or create a disproportionate health or environmental burden on rural, low-income, minority, and other vulnerable communities.
These additional assessments will clarify the impact on Americans, the costs to consumers, and the climate.
In November 2023, Rep. Casten joined Rep. Jared Huffman in urging the Biden Administration to pause the approval of new LNG export terminals. President Biden announced this pause in January 2024.
Text of the legislation can be found here.
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