FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 17, 2024
Contact: Ashley Sullivan, ashley.sulivan@weact.org
WASHINGTON — Today the Biden Administration’s Department of Energy (DOE) released a long-awaited, urgent analysis of the impacts of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) exports showing LNG’s negative impacts including contributing to the climate crisis, growing public health risks, and hurting the U.S. economy. WE ACT for Environmental Justice joins thousands of advocates in underscoring the importance of this analysis and encourages DOE to incorporate it for decision-making processes, as well as to challenge LNG permitting legally. We are hopeful this analysis emphasizes what many have been sharing for decades: LNG is a massive risk for communities, especially for environmental justice communities in the Gulf, and for our country and climate future.
“DOE’s long-awaited environmental and economic analyses demonstrate what environmental justice and frontline communities have been saying for years — Liquefied Natural Gas export facilities are not in the public interest. Not only do these projects compound public health and safety harms to communities, especially in the Gulf and for communities of color, but they also exacerbate the climate crisis and raise energy prices here at home. This particularly impacts the most energy burdened families and those of low-income. We look forward to the opportunity to provide input on the analyses and reiterate that the costs of LNG expansion are much too high. The final studies should not be the end of the matter but must lead to decisive action from the Administration to deny pending LNG applications and movement toward a real just energy transition away from fossil fuels.” – Leslie Fields, Chief Federal Officer, WE ACT for Environmental Justice
WE ACT has been sounding the alarm on LNG for years, most recently encouraging a pause by the Biden Administration on LNG permitting, which went into effect earlier this year. Our organization, along with allies, encouraged the pause for exactly this reason – to accurately assess and understand how this industry truly impacts all Americans and especially those most vulnerable to fossil fuel pollution. We are thankful for the massive collective efforts of groups and individuals from across the country to elevate concern and unite to ensure thorough, comprehensive scientific evaluation of this harmful fossil fuel system. As we see the stories of frontline communities like those in our Wrong Direction campaign given further validation through this analysis, we hope that decision-makers will continue to consider the real necessity of ending reliance on the oil and gas industry and instead invest in sustainable, clean energy solutions that protect our climate, our security, our health, and our economy.
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WE ACT for Environmental Justice is a Northern Manhattan membership-based organization whose mission is to build healthy communities by ensuring that people of color and/or low-income residents participate meaningfully in the creation of sound and fair environmental health and protection policies and practices. WE ACT has offices in New York and Washington, D.C. Visit us at weact.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter/X, and Instagram.