The Biden administration’s recently announced “pause” of further expansion of liquified natural gas (LNG) exports while a “review” of climate impacts takes place makes no sense even if you are a fanatical devotee to the quixotic cause of decarbonizing energy as rapidly as possible.
First, if the U.S. halted all natural gas exports for the rest of this century, it would lower global temperatures by less than one-tenth the normal annual temperature variation. In other words, the effect of the LNG ban would be undetectable.
Second, an LNG ban could actually slow decarbonization of the world’s energy. In the absence of a robust natural gas market, many nations will be less likely to scale back coal in favor of gas, which has half the CO2 emissions of coal.
Third, banning U.S. LNG exports is terrible geopolitical strategy, as it will increase international dependence on Russian and Middle Eastern natural gas. As with the decision to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline with our largest trading partner, the administration continues to be heedless of the interests of our allies and rivals.
The (doubtful) merits of the LNG ban make this the worst kind is political pandering and hackery. Both WaPo and NYT have reported that White House climate policy advisers recently met with “TikTok influencers” about the LNG issue. It is no secret that the Biden re-election campaign is making TikTok a key communication node.
As the Post reports, “The Biden administration has previously worked closely with TikTok creators.” Greta Thunberg may have aged out of her premier climate icon status, but the White House is still letting teenagers dictate our climate policy.
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