CHARLESTON – In yet another astonishing move by the Biden administration, federal regulators are now placing a pause on Liquified Natural Gas, or LNG, exports leaving the United States to countless buyers around the world.
These types of disruptions to our energy producing economy are unfortunately a far too significant occurrence as President Joe Biden looks to placate climate activists opposed to an all of the above energy approach. Cancelling the $10 Billion Keystone XL pipeline, halting major exploration of federal energy leases, and trying to put the brakes on federal permitting reforms are just a few recent examples.
This newest pause on LNG exports is equally damaging to both our economy and our national security. In fact, this pause is ripe with irony. The United States is the number one exporter of LNG globally. What makes it such a hot commodity? It’s the cleanest burning fossil fuel on the planet, and the U.S. sits on an ocean of it. Much of which is right below our feet here in West Virginia.
According to the Biden administration, the climate crisis is the “existential threat of our time” and one of the primary factors in making such an impertinent move. However, this particular move leaves much to the imagination as to exactly how halting energy exports of LNG can be of such a global benefit, given the obvious detriments both at home and abroad.
The science has repeatedly shown that U.S. LNG can accelerate global emissions reductions by displacing higher emissions emitting fuels, as the Department of Energy’s own reports have shown. U.S. LNG exports also have proven critical to many European countries, who would otherwise be held hostage by Russia’s oil and natural gas reserves.
The economic implications of halting LNG exports are similarly of major concern. U.S. LNG supports thousands of jobs and adds billions to the economy here at home. More broadly, U.S. natural gas is meeting rising global energy demand while maintaining a well-supplied domestic market. By putting a near immediate stop to enormous amounts of exports shipped out of the U.S. each and every day, the impact on employment and operations throughout the industry could be immense.
For example, this pause is likely to halt the construction and development of several major LNG export facilities currently planned to keep up with demand on the gulf coast. Facilities that are powered by and process LNG extracted here in West Virginia and surrounding regions. While climate activists have criticized the development of LNG projects, we must look at them for what they are. Massive job formation that fuels cleaner energy usage around the world powered our abundance of natural resources in West Virginia.
That is why it is our responsibility here in West Virginia to continue leading the effort to fight these hostile proposals. In cases such as West Virginia v. EPA, we took the radical proposals of the Biden administration to court and won. That multi-state effort was initiated and led by our Attorney General in West Virginia and is among countless other efforts our state has been a part of to push back on Washington’s war on West Virginia energy.
The West Virginia Attorney General’s Office plays a critical role in deciding what cases to join or initiate when the federal government oversteps its authority. That is why a state such as West Virginia, one that plays such a major role in our country’s energy development, must maintain leadership, like that of current Attorney General Morrisey, that dares to stand up to these types of aggressive and shortsighted maneuvers from Washington. These types of responses aren’t about gaining political favor or saving face with the politicians and bureaucrats in Washington. They are about protecting West Virginia jobs and the economy – our employers, our employees, our families, and our way of life.
While many believe we can legislate the weather and adjust the temperature of the globe with the stroke of a bureaucrat’s or the President’s pen, and that they have the authority to do so at will, our residents, our energy producers, and the resilient, robust workforce they employ knows better. It is imperative that our leadership in West Virginia does too.
McCuskey, a Republican, is West Virginia's state auditor and a candidate for state attorney general.