FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
12/19/24
MEDIA CONTACT:
Edder Díaz Martínez
edderdiazmartinez@greenlatinos.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The much anticipated LNG study from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) was released on Tuesday, December 17th, 2024. The report provides an analysis of the impacts of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports on the climate, economy, and communities. It dismantles the fossil fuel industry's long-standing claim that LNG exports are a cleaner alternative to coal. The findings reveal that instead of displacing coal, LNG exports are displacing renewable energy sources, keeping the United States locked into fossil fuels at the expense of communities and the climate.
The report highlights the disproportionate impacts of LNG terminals on environmental justice communities, where planned facilities concentrate harmful pollution in areas already overburdened by industrial emissions. The report also underscores the economic burden LNG exports place on American families. They drive up methane gas prices domestically, contributing to inflation and price gouging by the oil and gas industry.
In response to the findings, Irene Burga, GreenLatinos Climate Justice and Clean Air Advocate, issued the following statement:
“The fossil fuel industry’s narrative that LNG is a ‘bridge fuel’ to a cleaner future is not just misleading—it’s harmful. DOE’s study confirms what frontline communities and advocates have been saying for years: LNG exports are not the solution. Instead of displacing coal, they’re displacing renewable energy and locking us into a reliance on fossil fuels that we cannot afford, all while continuing to harm frontline communities already most overburdened with poor air quality and heavy industry.
From Texas to Louisiana, Black, Indigenous, Latine, and Asian Pacific Islander communities—along with low-income and working-class communities—are being disproportionately forced to sacrifice their health and futures for fossil fuel profits. It is clear increases in LNG will not only increase global emissions but perpetuate environmental racism in overburdened communities. These injustices are stark: Louisiana's proposed CP2 LNG terminal would emit more greenhouse gases annually than over 140 countries. This is unacceptable.
We commend President Biden for his leadership earlier this year in pausing LNG terminal approvals pending the release of this critical study. Now, we urge him to take the next bold step by rejecting all pending LNG export authorizations and standing firmly in support of our climate and communities.”
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About GreenLatinos
GreenLatinos (NOTE: GreenLatinos is ONE WORD) is an active comunidad of Latino/a/e leaders, emboldened by the power and wisdom of our culture, united to demand equity and dismantle racism, resourced to win our environmental, conservation, and climate justice battles, and driven to secure our political, economic, cultural, and environmental liberation.