Judge Overturns LNG Export Ban, But It May Not Matter

As Connecting the Dots reported this past January, President Joe Biden paused the federal government’s reviews of applications for licenses to export liquified natural gas (LNG) from U.S. terminals. The stated purpose of this new policy was to determine whether LNG exports harm the environment, and whether export applications should be considered through that lens of their climate impact.

In early July, a federal judge stepped in, approving a request from Republican-led states to lift the pause while lawsuits against it play out. In his ruling, Judge James Cain said he believes the states that challenged the pause are likely to succeed in their case and would suffer irreparable harm if the pause continues while the case plays out.

While the ruling is welcome, according to some experts, it may not mean much in terms of energy production and export since the Biden administration still has the power to review and approve new projects. As Ira Joseph, a senior research associate at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, explained to The Hill, the U.S. Department of Energy can take as long as it wants to carry out this review. “I don’t think [the decision] have much impact at all,” Joseph said.