Washington, DC– U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and a senior member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, issued a statement on a new Department of Energy report detailing the ways increased liquified natural gas (LNG) exports will harm consumers, American industry, and the climate, all while aiding China:
“This long-awaited report from the Department of Energy confirms what many of us climate hawks have long suspected: increased exports of LNG will increase net greenhouse gas emissions, as LNG displaces zero-carbon sources of energy like renewables and nuclear. Greenlighting additional LNG export capacity would only exacerbate the mounting costs of climate change to both American families and the economy.
“The report also finds that increased LNG exports will directly raise costs on consumers and industry, as more American gas is shipped overseas. Much of our LNG is set to feed the Chinese market, advantaging a foreign competitor at the expense of Americans and our own industrial competitiveness. It’s in America’s national security and economic interests to free consumers from our dangerous dependence on oil and gas markets by shifting to secure our renewable energy future.
“The Trump administration should permanently stop greenlighting new LNG export capacity. Anything less would be a capitulation to China and Trump’s fossil fuel donors.”
