|
President Joe Biden, a Democrat, paused approvals of exports of
pending and future LNG projects to big markets in Asia and
Europe late last month in order to review the environmental and
economic impacts of the booming business. Biden acted after
pressure from environmentalists concerned about greenhouse gas
emissions during the lifecycle of the LNG industry and pollution
from LNG plants near vulnerable communities.
The 35 officials, including Rick Perry and Dan Brouillette,
energy secretaries under former President Donald Trump, wrote to
lawmakers heading energy and foreign affairs committees in the
House of Representatives and the Senate.
"It is imperative that we reverse this action and continue to
advance our economic, energy, and geopolitical interests while
leading on environmental progress," the former officials said in
the letter.
U.S. LNG exports to Europe rose after Russia invaded Ukraine in
2022. U.S, and they are expected to double by the end of the
decade on exports already approved.
The U.S. House is set to vote on a bill as early as Wednesday
that would strip the power of the Department of Energy to
approve the exports and give it to the independent Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission.
The legislation would likely struggle in the Senate, controlled
by Democrats, and some lawmakers have been wary of it. Senator
Joe Manchin, a Democrat who opposes the pause, told reporters
last week he is not looking at "taking anyone's authority away."
The letter was also sent to Biden administration officials.
Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk told reporters last week that
as the administration talks with allies and partners about the
pause, "we feel very comfortable" about their gas supply going
forward.
(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
[© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
