How Oil and Gas Exports Are Undermining Climate Progress

“The hyperbolic headline is anti-modernity at its core.” SH

How Oil and Gas Exports Are Undermining Climate Progress

A massive buildout of export infrastructure is the next big climate test for the Biden administration.

BY JILL FITZSIMMONS  /  FOSSIL FUELS PROGRAM

A large liquified natural gas transport ship sits docked in the Calcasieu River on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, near Cameron, Louisiana. (Jon Shapley / Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

November 30, 2023

The U.S. is touting its climate progress ahead of a key UN climate summit. But did you know that while we’re making historic clean energy investments, we are undermining that progress by exporting more fossil fuel pollution overseas than ever before?

The U.S. is now the largest exporter of methane gas in the world, and the fossil fuel industry is rapidly building new export infrastructure in the same communities that are already bearing the brunt of fossil fuel pollution. Here’s how oil and gas exports are undermining U.S. progress on climate and environmental justice, and what Earthjustice is doing about it.

An Oil and Gas Export Boom is Entrenching Fossil Fuel Use

Fossil fuel companies are pushing a buildout of export facilities to sell oil and gas overseas at record profits.

U.S. gas exports hit a record high in the first half of 2023, entrenching our position as the largest exporter globally. And the industry shows no signs of slowing down. If all the new gas export projects that are proposed or under construction move forward, U.S. export capacity will quadruple. These massive industrial facilities super cool gas into a liquid (“liquified natural gas” or LNG) to be shipped in huge tanker ships to various destinations in places like Asia and Europe. A proposed project in Louisiana called Calcasieu Pass 2 (CP2) would export more LNG than any other facility in the U.S.

The fossil fuel industry is making false claims about the need for more gas exports to meet demand in Europe and offset Russian gas. But the truth is that the U.S. is already surpassing its targets and, in Europe, import capacity is outpacing demand. Industry also claims that methane gas will help end global reliance on coal — but U.S. gas is increasingly competing with renewable energy in Europe and Asia.

And it’s not just gas exports that are booming. In 2015, Congress lifted a 40-year ban on exporting crude oil. Since then, crude oil exports have skyrocketed, and the U.S. is now the world’s 5th largest oil exporter. In the Gulf, the fossil fuel industry is building offshore deepwater ports to significantly expand exports of crude oil on massive oil tankers. Projects like the Sea Port Oil Terminal (SPOT) in Texas and the Blue Marlin Offshore Port in Louisiana have the capacity to load and export as much as 2 million barrels of crude oil per day.

Frontline communities, U.S. consumers, and the environment are paying the price for this massive export boom. The only winner is the fossil fuel industry and its bottom line.

Oil and Gas Export Terminals Are Massive Carbon Bombs

At a time when the U.S. must urgently transition to clean energy to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis, the buildout of oil and gas export infrastructure threatens to keep us locked into decades of fossil fuel use and climate-warming emissions. If all of the gas export facilities that are proposed or under construction move forward, their emissions will be equivalent to 539 new coal-fired power plants. The CP2 project alone could pollute 20 times the annual carbon emissions of the Willow drilling project in Alaska. Meanwhile, the proposed offshore oil terminals in the Gulf would emit around three times what the entire U.S. emits each year. The U.S. can’t meet its climate goals if the government keeps greenlighting these export projects.

Frontline Communities Are Paying the Price

Exporting oil and gas locks in pollution overseas, but it also increases pollution here at home. Most export facilities are proposed in the same communities of color and low-income communities that are already overburdened by heavy industry and fossil fuel pollution. These communities are also on the frontlines of climate change. Now they are facing even more pollution from the construction and operation of new oil and gas export facilities. Transporting oil and gas by pipeline, rail, and ship exposes these and other communities to more pollution and the risk of accidents.

The CP2 project would be located next to an existing export terminal that has repeatedly violated its permit. The new facility would increase cancer-causing pollution in nine communities along the Gulf Coast, destroy irreplaceable wetlands and marshes, and threaten the livelihoods of local shrimpers and fishermen. Other proposed export projects would cause similar harms, compounding the impact on frontline communities.

On top of the risks to public health and the environment, exporting oil and gas also drives up home heating and energy prices for U.S. consumers who are already struggling with inflation. Now is not the time to increase costs even more so that oil and gas companies can rake in higher profits overseas.

Exports Are the Biden Administration’s Next Big Climate Test

The Biden administration has made historic investments in clean energy and has taken important steps to advance environmental justice. But at the same time, the administration is undermining its own progress by doubling down on fossil fuels and exporting pollution abroad. To meet U.S. climate and environmental justice commitments, the Biden administration must stop greenlighting fossil fuel export projects.

The Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible for deciding whether new licenses for LNG exports are in the public interest. DOE must update how it makes that determination, and fully consider how gas exports impact the climate, environmental justice, and domestic energy prices. It’s clear that projects like CP2 are not in the public interest and should be denied.

Earthjustice Is Fighting the Buildout of Oil and Gas Exports

Alongside our partners, Earthjustice is fighting oil and gas export projects that harm communities and the environment.

• We’re challenging state permits for the CP2 project in Louisiana, and we’re urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy to reject the project.

• We’re petitioning the EPA to stop Texas and Louisiana from unlawfully allowing more air pollution in already overburdened communities, violating federal public health standards.

• We are litigating to challenge federal approval of the Alaska LNG project, which failed to fully assess its climate and environmental harms.

• We sued the Department of Transportation challenging its approval of the SPOT oil terminal, and we’re challenging five other proposed oil export terminals in the Gulf.

• We’re challenging pipeline projects that will transport oil and gas for export, including the Evangeline Pass expansion project that would increase methane gas export capacity in the Gulf.

• We’re advocating for government agencies to improve their process for evaluating whether export projects are in the public interest.

• We’re urging the Biden administration to postpone or deny all pending export facilities.