The Biden Administration Just Made One of Its Most Important Climate Decisions
Biden is planning to announce a moratorium on new LNG projects. Here’s why that’s such a big deal.
distilled.earth

The chart in the article really blew my little mind.

Over the last few months, the Biden administration has been weighing up what many environmental groups have called one of the President’s biggest climate decisions. White House officials have deliberated over whether or not to approve or block the Calcasieu Pass 2 (CP2) liquified natural gas (LNG) export terminal.

The $10 billion project has been called a “carbon mega bomb.” If built, it would be the largest natural gas export facility in the country, capable of exporting 20 million tons of gas per year. The terminal would increase America’s natural gas export capacity by 20 percent.

Its approval would also set a regulatory precedent for what climate writer and activist Bill McKibben has called the biggest fossil fuel infrastructure buildout in the world. The decision could clear the way for dozens of other LNG projects at a time when climate scientists have said countries must stop building new fossil fuel infrastructure.

Yesterday, the New York Times reported that the administration will ask the Energy Department to evaluate the climate impacts of CP2 before deciding on the project’s future. They are expected to delay their decision until after the election, effectively putting a moratorium on all new LNG projects.

The policy move, which was celebrated by climate activists and environmental groups, signals that the administration might block the massive CP2 project and about two dozen other proposed LNG projects.

As President Biden once famously said, “This is a big f—ing deal.”

To see just how big of a deal it is, let’s put the total emissions of the CP2 project and all proposed LNG projects in context.