LNG Permitting Pause: An Essential Tool, Or Just A Bargaining Chip?

When Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told attendees at last month’s CERAWeek conference in Houston that the “pause” in permitting of future export facilities for liquefied natural gas (LNG) would be “well in our rearview mirror” by the time next year’s conference is held, it is doubtful anyone thought she was talking about it possibly being lifted in April. But here we are on April 3, and Reuters is reporting that two sources at the White House have said the pause could be used as a bargaining chip to encourage House Republicans to pass President Joe Biden’s desired $95 billion funding bill for the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

Note: This story was also published at Forbes.com

No doubt many of the company executives in the CERAWeek audience will be confused today given that the White House assured the country that the pause was an absolutely essential step in fighting climate change when it was announced January 26. The Biden media office even put out a long fact sheet containing quotes from dozens of supporters, including this one from Dr. Genevieve Guenther, Founding Director, End Climate Silence: “Oh my god, I am literally in tears right now. Biden is pausing approvals and directing the DOE to expand its evaluation of new liquid methane gas terminals to consider their impact on Climate Change. Thank god, thank god.” One can only wonder how Dr. Guenther may be feeling today as she reads the story at Reuters informing us that the pause was really not all that essential after all and could now be traded away.

Making matters more confusing, Reuters quotes its sources at the White House as saying that trading away the pause is “tolerable” given that it “has no bearing on near-term LNG exports.” That statement is true, actually, although some Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson, have implied otherwise.

But it is difficult to understand how, from a logical standpoint, it would have any bearing on why the White House would be willing to concede on the matter for this short-term political gain. Either the pause is essential to fight climate change, which the President himself regularly calls an existential threat to mankind, or it isn’t. If it is, then how can it be used as just another political bargaining chip after just two months?