White House Assembles Climate Advisers on LNG Export Approvals

(Bloomberg) -- The Biden administration is said to be reevaluating the climate criteria it uses when approving new liquefied natural gas export facilities in a move that has the potential to stall pending projects as the 2024 election nears.

A panel of government officials convened by White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi will develop a recommendation on the issue for President Joe Biden, according to two people familiar with the matter who weren’t authorized to speak publicly. The officials met Saturday but didn’t yet reach a policy recommendation for the president, one of the people said. 

The recent deliberations are fraught for the White House. A collision of domestic and geopolitical issues, they come at time when the administration’s approval of fossil fuel projects has been under tough scrutiny from environmentalists and drawn blowback from young voters critical to Biden’s reelection. At the same time, the US has promised a surge of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, exports to Europe to help loosen Russia’s energy leverage on the continent.

The Department of Energy, which issues export permits, is also checking whether it’s properly accounting for the climate impact of proposed plants, Politico earlier reported, citing an unidentified senior US administration official.

The White House and Energy Department didn’t immediately comment. 

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