The U.S.’s Pause on LNG Projects: An Untimely Retreat
Carolyn Kissane, Associate Dean of the NYU SPS Center for Global Affairs and the Founding Director of the NYU SPS Energy, Climate Justice and Sustainability Lab, writes commentary in Barron’s on the U.S’s pause for LNG projects.
“Energy prices are socially and politically sensitive. It’s an election year, and higher gasoline prices are usually bad for incumbents, as are climate policies that can be spun as hurting the economy. Biden’s LNG pause fits the latter, and as tensions in the Middle East rise, there’s a chance of higher prices at the pump. Both pose challenges for Biden.”
“The pause doesn’t impact current LNG exports but raises questions about the longer-term commitment to an industry that has given the U.S. strategic geopolitical leverage. The U.S. is the largest producer of oil and gas in the world, surpassing Russia and Iran. In the production of LNG, the U.S. took the lead last year from Qatar and is over and above Australia’s export capacity. This transformation took less than a decade.”
