EUROPE -- Today, the European Union announced it will decrease its bloc-wide methane gas, sometimes referred to as “natural gas,” consumption by 15 percent between now and Spring 2023 in response to Russia’s decision to decrease gas supply to Germany. Russian gas currently accounts for 40 percent of the EU’s supply. The agreement includes some narrow exceptions, including for small island nations and the Baltic States, which currently have limited energy alternatives, as well as countries that have lower consumption rates of gas.
Today, Sierra Club, along with HealthyGulf, filed a lawsuit against the Army Corps of Engineers for issuing a Clean Water Act section 404 “dredge and fill” permit for the Driftwood LNG fracked gas export terminal proposed for construction in Calcasieu Parish in Southwest Louisiana.
The Sierra Club submitted motions to intervene to the United States’ Department of Energy (DOE) protesting export authorizations for three separate fracked gas “LNG” export terminals: Lake Charles LNG, New Fortress LNG, and Plaquemines LNG.
After Venture Global LLC failed to provide additional and necessary data regarding its proposed CP LNG export terminal to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the agency announced that it is suspending the environmental review process for project and its associated pipeline,
Today, 136 organizations sent a letter to President Biden in response to the June 8 explosion at the Freeport LNG export facility, expressing continued concern with expanded gas exports and calling for immediate action to protect nearby communities.
A new report on the potential impacts of Plaquemines LNG was released and sent this morning in a set of joint comments from Sierra Club and Healthy Gulf to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which urge the agency to deny the facility’s request to produce an additional 3.2 MTPA (million metric tons per year) of fracked gas. The organizations also argue that FERC must prepare a new Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that fully analyzes the facility’s potential impact on the environment, climate, and environmental justice communities in the construction of the Plaquemines LNG export terminal.
BRUSSELS -- Today, European Union adopted its RePowerEU plan to begin eliminating Russian fossil fuel imports. RePowerEU will focus on increasing energy efficiency and demand savings, reducing bottlenecks for clean energy projects, and expanding solar energy, with the goal of cutting the EU’s fossil gas imports from Russia by two-thirds this year and the remaining one-third by 2027. At the same time, the EU also released its International Energy Strategy, which will partially focus on increasing imports of false solutions like blue hydrogen and fossil gas through deals with the US, Egypt, Israel, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Qatar, Japan, Korea, and other countries.
Despite the escalating climate crisis caused by the global over-reliance on fossil fuels, the state-backed French company Engie made a 15-year deal with NextDecade to import 1.75 million metric tons per year of fracked gas from Rio Grande LNG, an export terminal proposed for South Texas. While Engie scrapped its original deal with Rio Grande LNG in 2020 because of the French government’s environmental concerns over hydraulic fracking in Texas, Engie has apparently reversed course despite the persistence of those same environmental concerns.
Yesterday, a group of environmental and community advocacy groups, including the City of Port Isabel, Esto’k Gna Tribal Nation of Texas, Healthy Gulf, Public Citizen, Sierra Club, and Vecinos para el Bienestar de la Comunidad Costera, filed a motion to intervene to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), in an extension request from Rio Grande LNG, a fracked gas terminal proposed for the Gulf Coast.
Sempra’s Port Arthur LNG fracked gas export terminal will not reach its final investment decision (FID) until late 2022 or as late as 2023. Port Arthur LNG was initially expected to reach FID in 2019.
Rio Grande LNG, a fracked gas export terminal proposed for construction in South Texas, requested an extension from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for the facility to come online in 2028. Rio Grande LNG was initially expecting to be operational by 2026.
This morning, President Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the development of plans to help the EU end its reliance on Russian gas in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The announcement lays out strategies to both expand the supply of US-produced gas to Europe and to reduce Europe’s need for fossil fuels. Gulf Coast communities are speaking out against any plans the Task Force may develop to expand gas exports as this will endanger their communities and environment, which are already overburdened by industry presence.