{"id":52414,"date":"2024-02-16T16:07:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-16T16:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/cnv\/?p=52414"},"modified":"2024-02-29T22:35:57","modified_gmt":"2024-02-29T22:35:57","slug":"has-the-white-house-gone-green","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/cnv\/2024\/02\/has-the-white-house-gone-green\/","title":{"rendered":"Has the White House gone green?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cWe are coming together to stop one of the largest fossil fuel buildouts in the world,\u201d said a spokesperson for the #StopLNG campaign<\/a>. The fossil fuel industry has been planning more than 20 new liquified natural gas export facilities across the Gulf of Mexico \u2014 the cumulative emissions from these projects would be equivalent to 675 coal fired power plants or the entire European Union. \u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this project won\u2019t be going forward \u2014 at least not for now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After decades of organizing from frontline communities across the U.S., especially in the Gulf Coast<\/a> where a majority of these projects have been concentrated, a large coalition came together to take the fight directly to Washington D.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three days of rallies and large-scale civil disobedience were being organized for Feb. 6-8 at the Department of Energy to pressure the Biden Administration to stop approving new LNG export facilities, a key strategic component for stopping the buildout. Over 1,000 people participated in nonviolent direct action training and planned to risk arrest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But just days before the disruption was due to begin, Biden made headlines by announcing<\/a> a pause on all LNG export approvals and the beginning of a process for incorporating climate and environmental justice harms into future decision making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The initial reaction was universal joy, with everyone from giant NGOs, to frontline communities<\/a>, youth movements<\/a>, and elders<\/a> celebrating the announcement. After years of relentless campaigning, petition delivering<\/a>, and pressure on Congress for precisely this decision, here was a victory that felt well-earned. Climate Defiance, who have been hounding<\/a> D.C.\u2019s oil-friendly elite, called it \u201cthe most significant move any US President has ever made on stopping fossil fuels.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leading up to Biden\u2019s announcement, a broad climate justice coalition has been winning victories and movement building<\/a>. Last September, the March to End Fossil Fuels mobilized over 75,000 people into the streets of New York City, combined with 700 smaller simultaneous actions around the world. Hundreds were arrested for nonviolent direct action in New York before and after the mass march. Though this was not a policy victory, it had a political impact and helped solidify the coalition that set its sights on LNG.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Extinction Rebellion D.C., which has been engaged in a campaign to Electrify D.C.<\/a>, sounded a note of caution, calling the win a \u201cray of hope\u201d in a long, difficult fight with an industry that has its claws deeply embedded in the country. \u201cThere are still eight LNG export facilities in operation and 10 more already approved, setting the U.S. on a path to double the volume of LNG exported by 2028.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking to the long term and interconnected nature of the struggle against the fossil fuel industry, Abby Shepard, press spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion D.C. explained, \u201cHere in D.C., our work to stop the local gas utility\u2019s $4.5 billion methane gas pipeline replacement project is intricately connected with the push to stop LNG. Washington Gas uses the same lies to gaslight residents into staying hooked on gas as the Venture Global execs pushing LNG. The more we can be out in our local communities<\/a> telling the truth about our crisis and the harms of gas, the stronger our collective movement will be to kick methane gas out of our system for good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further scrutiny into industry and political motives behind this potential turning point in climate policy has revealed both reasons for caution and potential strategies forward. First, it is doubtful that the wildly unpopular Biden administration\u2019s announcement coincides with the start of the presidential election cycle by accident. Activists have an opportunity to keep the pressure on, demanding that this be the start of a new chapter in climate policy rather than a mere gesture to win youth<\/a> and climate voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zooming out, the Biden administration’s extreme resistance to public pressure to call for a ceasefire in Gaza after months of massive protest and civil disobedience should make us question the motives behind his recent shift on LNG exports. Contrary to the official narrative<\/a> that Biden is suddenly (and selectively) listening to activist outcry, there is evidence that this policy turnaround may have more to do with natural limits on resources than with public pressure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three days before Biden\u2019s LNG announcement, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, a program of the Department of Energy, revealed that \u200b\u200bthe country\u2019s gas supply is in terminal decline<\/a>. Production growth of shale gas, which accounts for 82 percent of U.S. dry gas production, is slowing. Instead of having an almost infinite amount of natural gas, as many believe, the U.S. may be running out of gas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Energy consultants stated that plans for 17 new LNG export terminals \u201ccould not come at a worse time,\u201d and explicitly advised<\/a> the Department of Energy to \u201creview and update its evaluations of future gas supply before approving any more export applications.\u201d In light of this information, it is clear that Biden\u2019s announcement could very well be an attempt to spin news of hard limits on resources into a popular media stunt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While applying pressure through activism has undoubtedly had effects and remains crucial \u2014 it would be a mistake to interpret Biden\u2019s turn around as an outcome of the democratic process. \u201cBiden\u2019s plans to dramatically expand the country\u2019s LNG facilities over the past years has shown time and time again he is not a climate candidate, but an energy-dominance candidate, more concerned with keeping the U.S.\u2019s grip on the world order than transitioning towards a sustainable future,\u201d cautioned climate corruption journalist, Rachel Donald, in a recent article<\/a> for Planet: Critical<\/em>. \u201cHis administration\u2019s sudden U-turn likely is due to shale production peaking than a sudden interest in the alarm raised by activists.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is more evidence that this decision cannot be interpreted as the Biden administration positioning itself against fossil fuel industry interests. Inside energy markets, this pause in new approvals might essentially be irrelevant due to so much new LNG supply entering the global market over the next two years from the U.S., Qatar, Canada and perhaps Mozambique. According to Seb Kennedy of Energy Flux<\/a>, Biden\u2019s decision, \u201cwas an easy way to make headlines that placate the climate contingent of the electorate without endangering market liquidity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Behind the scenes, fossil fuel industry machinations have also played their part. Earlier in January, Venture Global, the project developer behind CP2 (the largest of the \u201cpaused\u201d terminals), told a U.S. regulator<\/a> that it could not meet its contracts to provide LNG to several major customers, yet it had already sold more than 200 cargoes of gas into the (higher priced) spot market. Among Venture Global\u2019s defrauded customers are energy giants Shell, BP, Galp, Edison, Polish state energy firm Orlen, Spain’s Repsol, and others \u2014 powerful enemies to make.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a gross understatement, JP Morgan analysts commented on the case in a note to their clients that Venture Global\u2019s \u201creal risk is fewer companies being interested in doing business with it.\u201d As we have seen time and again, fossil fuel execs play like mob bosses: \u201cCP2 is the scapegoat but Venture Global has trashed its own reputation. Buyers will not go near CP2 without cast iron assurances that this won\u2019t happen again, and I expect a fair few executives in the LNG space will gleefully welcome CP2\u2019s demise,\u201d Kennedy said. \u201cYou might say Venture Global deserved a comeuppance and Biden is doing [the industry\u2019s] bidding. All in all, it is business as usual in the LNG world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n