Why LNG Should Be Biden’s Top Lame Duck Climate Priority

1. Locking In His Climate Legacy 

President Biden ran and won on climate. And in his four years as president, he’s done more to catalyze a just, equitable clean energy economy than any president before him. He’s given the U.S. a fighting chance to transition away from dirty fossil fuels and cut pollution at the urgency our climate demands.

Now, months away from handing over the keys to a fascist who believes the climate crisis is a “hoax,” he must do all he can to preserve the progress our movement has built over the past four years. He must finish as strong as he started.

LNG presents a massive threat to our climate, public health, and economy. If all the projects currently awaiting permits were approved, greenhouse gas pollution from all U.S.-approved LNG exports (PDF) would be equivalent to more than one thousand coal-fired power plants. This would be a cruel insult to the same administration that released the first-ever federal standards to limit carbon pollution from coal and gas-fired power plants.

President Biden must do everything in his power to prevent the ongoing expansion of LNG exports. Not doing so would undermine his administration’s signature achievements of building a thriving clean energy economy, cutting climate pollution, and supporting communities and workers. 

2. It’s What Americans Want 

President Biden can continue delivering on the promise of climate during his final few months in office by once again listening to the hundreds of thousands of Americans who are calling for a future free from deadly LNG.

In October 2024, over half a million people submitted comments to DOE, asking for an end to LNG expansion, which sacrifices our collective future in favor of the short-term profits for a select few. Moreover, exit polling just last week also showed Americans prefer clean energy expansion over fossil fuels by 13 points.  

Throughout his presidency, President Biden has shown his willingness to listen to the people most affected and knowledgeable when making policy decisions—whether they were scientists, frontline and environmental justice leaders, or healthcare professionals. As he closes out his term, he should heed the will of the country and do what’s best to secure wins for the long haul—regardless of who is in office.

3. Upholding Environmental Justice

Through programs like Justice40, President Biden has acknowledged that justice and climate action must go hand-in-hand. Addressing pollution from LNG terminals is fundamentally an environmental justice issue.

For decades, Black, Latino, and low-income communities from Texas to Louisiana have been forced to live with the burden of fossil fuel pollution, industry-related accidents, and higher rates of cancer, disease, and illness. President Biden can prove his commitment to these communities—DOE can finalize studies and deny all of the pending LNG export authorizations before the end of his term. 

4. Showing Global American Leadership 

When President Biden entered office, he immediately rejoined the Paris Agreement. Last year at COP28, the United States agreed with other nations to “transition away from fossil fuels.” And now, as international leaders gather in Azerbaijan for COP29 this week, President Biden can lock in his climate legacy by getting DOE ready to deny all pending LNG export projects to non-Free Trade Agreement countries before the end of his term. 

Pro-LNG industry lobbyists use European energy security as an excuse to continue America’s LNG export expansion. But this is a deeply misguided narrative. Existing LNG infrastructure can already address Europe's energy security needs.

Moreover, LNG demand is declining from major importers like Europe, Japan, and South Korea, as they pivot to building out clean energy. Our allies in Europe are leading the clean energy transition and decarbonization fight by example: EU emissions fell by 8.3 percent in 2023, compared to 2022. 

With these clean energy tailwinds from our allies, President Biden can send a powerful signal as his climate final act—the fossil fuel era is truly winding down.

A Lasting Legacy of Climate Action Comes Down to the Next Few Months

Just hours after taking the oath of office in January 2021, President Biden shared his intention to “not just reverse the gravest damages of the Trump administration—but also to start moving our country forward.” Three years later, we can say President Biden took that promise seriously. He will leave the White House having achieved more than any president before him on climate, giving the U.S. a fighting chance to transition away from dirty fossil fuels at the urgent pace necessary. 

By contrast, Trump has vowed to reverse the Biden administration’s regulations on oil and gas standards and advocate for fossil fuels as the country’s primary source of energy. We know this path only leads to more climate disasters, higher energy costs, and increasingly polluted and sick communities. That’s why it’s all the more important for President Biden to use his final months in office to ensure a lasting, positive legacy, finish what he started, and Trump-proof the most essential and vulnerable pillars of progress.  

The task of preserving our democracy, values, and a safer climate future from a Trump administration will no doubt be challenging and will require a movement-wide effort that goes beyond these next few months. But President Biden has a chance to do even more to help us succeed. That means finishing the job on LNG.