Energy

Biden Admin Appeals To Save Its Freeze On New Natural Gas Exports

(Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)

The Biden administration appealed on Monday a July court ruling that lifted its January freeze on new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export approvals.

The Department of Energy (DOE) filed its appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit after a U.S. district judge ruled on July 1 to enjoin the DOE’s LNG export approvals freeze. The appeal indicates that the Biden administration is not inclined to allow one of its signature climate policy decisions to be overturned without a fight.

“Defendants Joseph R. Biden, in his official capacity as President of the United States; the United States Department of Energy (‘DOE’); Jennifer Granholm, in her official capacity as Secretary of the DOE; David M. Turk, in his official capacity as Deputy Secretary of the DOE; Geri Richmond, in her official capacity as Under Secretary of the DOE; Brad Crabtree, in his official capacity as Assistant Secretary of the DOE; and Amy Sweeney, in her official capacity as Director of the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management within the DOE appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit from the orders entered on July 1, 2024, which granted the State Plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary injunction and denied Defendants’ motion to dismiss,” the DOE’s appeal filing reads. (RELATED: Federal Court Lifted Biden’s Natural Gas Exports Pause, But The Feds May Not Be ‘Lifting A Finger’ Anytime Soon)

DOE LNG Appeal by Nick Pope on Scribd

When announced in January, the Biden administration’s pause won the approval of deep-pocketed environmental groups as a major victory and a step to counter climate change, while elected Republicans slammed the decision as a political choice meant to appease green groups and their activist voters. The July 1 order enjoining the pause, issued by a Trump-appointed judge, was pursuant to a legal challenge brought by a coalition of red states.

Judge James Cain Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana wrote in the July 1 order that the freeze appears to be “without reason or logic and perhaps the epiphany of ideocracy.”

Moreover, energy sector experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the pause will likely increase global emissions by empowering production in countries that produce gas less cleanly than the U.S., such as Qatar and Russia.

The DOE did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Featured Image Credit: Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz