(ReliableNews.org) – When President Joe Biden (D) took office in January 2021, he highlighted the climate crisis as a priority for his administration. Less than a year into his term, Biden signed an executive order to move the country toward net-zero emissions. Recently, at least one columnist stated he believes the president is now making political moves to promote green energy while keeping fossil fuels available and cheap to appease more Americans.
On January 31, Rick Newman wrote an article for Yahoo! Finance stating he thinks the administration’s recent decision to temporarily suspend new facilities approval for natural gas exporting is a strategic move. He said the pause will give the Department of Energy (DOE) time to look at the impact of surging natural gas exports on climate, energy, and national security while the president gets credit from environmentally-conscious voters. All the while, US energy prices stay low, appealing to voters overall.
The Biden administration announced a temporary pause on pending approvals of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to non-free trade agreement (FTA) nations on January 26. The White House statement said LNG export authorizations were due for review because they were five years old and likely didn’t align with the administration’s goals of keeping consumer prices down or with greenhouse gas emission goals.
Although the pause went into effect, the US will still supply LNG to its allies and expects to double exports of the commodity by 2030. America is the top exporter of LNG globally. The announcement then listed the administration’s accomplishments regarding climate change so far, including launching the American Climate Corps, the Inflation Reduction Act, tackling methane emissions, and protecting 26 million acres of land and water.
Newman believes Biden could be making the move to make sure energy prices in the US stay steady while he’s campaigning for re-election. Plus, once the review is done, the columnist thinks perhaps that study will end in a couple of permit denials to make climate activists happy while LNG exports continue under the radar.
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