Back from DC... again 😎

I attended meetings in support of frontline organizers and climate groups as they discussed the LNG permit pause with officials.

Feb 07, 2024

Last week, many of my climate action friends and I converged in DC for a press conference at the capitol, followed by meetings with the Climate Policy office and the DOE. The goal was to communicate to the administration that a permit pause is just the beginning and a mechanism for community and public input during the environmental assessment is necessary.

The communities in Louisiana are actively facing the consequences of environmental pollution and rapid climate change simultaneously from existing facilities. At the same time, a pause on new export permits is a win against the powerful lobbying influence of Big Oil. Still, we are far from finished with our fight to combat the rapid expansion of LNG facilities across the US.

Equipped with my phone camera and rainbow Kufiya, I ventured inside the Capitol building for a press conference with members of Congress. As much as I appreciate being included in these meetings with officials, I will value the time I spent with the frontline activists, organizers, elders, and fishermen above all my other experiences on this trip.

The news of the temporary pause is causing a stir across the political spectrum, including potential impacts in LNG legal battles.

Biden’s gas export pause could ripple through LNG lawsuits By Niina H. Farah
It may also boost environmentalists’ legal fight over an LNG export terminal in Alaska that raises the very issue DOE plans to investigate: How should climate risks be accounted for when the government decides a gas export project is in the public interest?
DOE is due to file briefs Feb. 14 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in a lawsuit opposing a $39 billion LNG export terminal backed by Alaska Gasline Development. The project — which DOE previously determined is in the public interest — is designed to export fuel primarily to Asian markets.
“Hopefully the thinking that has prevailed today, in terms of the need for this pause, will also be evident in whatever they file in this case,” said Moneen Nasmith, a senior attorney with Earthjustice, which is representing environmental groups opposing Alaska LNG.
The D.C. Circuit is separately weighing whether to approve additional exports to non-free-trade-agreement countries from Golden Pass LNG in Texas. The D.C. Circuit heard oral arguments last October and has not yet ruled on the case.
Courts can also be influenced by changing policies related to the cases before them, said Keith Hall, director of the Energy Law Center at Louisiana State University.
Some judges “might be tempted to pause litigation” for existing LNG approvals, he said. “A judge could reason that, depending on what the administration does, the case might become moot, so why not wait and see.”
A number of pending projects not yet tied up in litigation will be affected by the policy freeze, including Commonwealth LNG in and Venture Global’s project CP2, both in Louisiana’s Cameron Parish.

The roughest lesson of the trip was coming to the realization that I did not, in fact, own proper walking shoes. A problem I will certainly be resolving before the next trip. Below are the videos I posted while in DC: