Weaponized Bureaucracy

Written by Dr. Matthew Wielicki on November 23, 2024. Posted in Current News

The Biden administration’s obstruction of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports is a blatant assault on energy security, economic stability, and global alliances.

Despite presiding over a meteoric rise in U.S. LNG exports, which became a lifeline for Europe after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the administration is now rushing to implement policies that will cripple this critical industry.

These actions weaken America’s standing with its allies, empower adversaries like Russia, and threaten the very progress the administration once celebrated.

This is not environmentalism, it’s political theater cloaked in green rhetoric, designed to hamstring the incoming administration and pander to fringe climate activists who have consistently moved the goalposts of progress.

The United States has become the world’s largest exporter of LNG, playing a pivotal role in stabilizing global energy markets. Data from the EIA shows U.S.

LNG exports surged to 11 billion cubic feet per day in 2022, outpacing competitors like Australia and Qatar. This leadership came at a critical time when Europe urgently needed to replace Russian gas, as demonstrated in the EIA’s global LNG export data.

Europe’s LNG import graph clarifies that U.S. LNG filled the void left by Russian pipeline gas, with imports skyrocketing after the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage.

Countries like Poland significantly reduced their reliance on Russian gas, turning partly to U.S. LNG for their energy needs, as seen in the Polish gas import trends.

Germany, Europe’s largest economy, was forced to build its first three LNG import terminals in just two years to stabilize its energy system. As seen in the global LNG map below, this infrastructure is now crucial to Europe’s ability to weather future energy crises.

The U.S. is uniquely positioned to supply this demand, so why would the administration obstruct the exports that strengthened alliances and stabilized markets?

The DOE’s Politically Motivated Study

The recent letter from House Republican leaders, including Cathy McMorris Rodgers, exposes the Biden administration’s duplicitous maneuvering…

Despite DOE’s prior findings and published reviews in favor of U.S. LNG exports, and contrary to DOE’s limited statutory authority under the NGA, the Biden administration’s DOE announced that it would expand its environmental review as part of a “managed transition” to reduce use of fossil fuels.

Recent press reports indicate that DOE is racing to complete a study on the climate impacts of LNG exports to hamper the incoming Republican administration and provide opportunities to challenge future project approvals in court.

Source: https://d1dth6e84htgma.cloudfront.net/11_15_24_Letter_to_Secretary_Granholm_3457e090a2.pdf

The Department of Energy (DOE) is accused of rushing to complete a new climate study aimed at stalling LNG export approvals.

This comes after a federal court ruled in July 2024 to lift the administration’s prior export ban. Lawmakers rightly point out that DOE’s past studies consistently found that LNG exports serve the public interest, supporting domestic jobs, economic growth, and global energy security, and are protected by the Natural Gas Act.

The Court also noted its confusion with the Biden Administration’s decision to halt the LNG approval process in the first place, given the Natural Gas Act’s “express language that applications are to be processed expeditiously” and the DOE’s July 2023 decision on essentially the same topic.

The Court was of course referring to the DOE’s July 2023 order denying a petition for rulemaking on LNG exports, in which the DOE acknowledged that “there is no factual or legal basis” to “halt approval of pending applications to export LNG.”

Source: https://www.louisianalawblog.com/energy/federal-court-halts-ban-on-liquefied-natural-gas-lng-exports/

The Natural Gas Act (NGA) of 1938 is a federal law that governs the interstate transmission and sale of natural gas in the United States. Under the NGA, the DOE is required to review and approve applications for natural gas exports, ensuring they align with the “public interest.”

The act explicitly mandates that such applications be processed expeditiously and limits the scope of environmental reviews to domestic impacts, excluding global production and consumption activities.

This rushed study represents political lawfare at its worst, weaponizing regulatory tools to delay or kill projects under the guise of a “managed transition” away from fossil fuels.

It blatantly ignores the DOE’s own legal obligations under the NGA and decades of evidence showing LNG’s benefits for domestic jobs, economic growth, and global energy security.

Such actions are not only legally dubious but also strategically reckless, prioritizing ideological goals over energy stability.

Hypocrisy in Environmental Claims

Let’s not pretend this obstruction has anything to do with genuine environmental concerns. U.S. LNG is far cleaner than Russian pipeline gas, notorious for massive leaks, and is displacing coal, a far dirtier energy source, in less developed nations.

The EIA’s global LNG export data underscores LNG’s critical role in emissions reductions. Yet, under pressure from radical climate alarmists, the administration has pivoted to demonizing LNG despite its clear environmental advantages.

Take, for instance, the recent claim in the Financial Times that LNG may have a greater climate impact than coal. This argument relies on cherry-picked data and ignores decades of established science.

It discounts technological advancements in LNG production and transport that have significantly reduced emissions and fails to consider the significant environmental toll of coal mining and combustion. This is not science, it’s propaganda designed to vilify LNG as part of an ideological crusade.

Even more hypocritical, the same climate groups now opposing LNG once celebrated it as a cleaner “bridge fuel” essential for transitioning to renewables.

This ideological rigidity undermines practical solutions and obstructs progress at a time when global energy security depends on U.S. leadership. This isn’t about saving the planet, it’s about political theater, enforcing ideological purity, and exerting control.

Undermining Allies and Strengthening Adversaries

Domestically, the impact is equally severe. Communities reliant on LNG projects for economic growth will suffer, while energy costs for U.S. consumers will rise, especially during times of inflation.

And let’s be clear: these policies will have absolutely zero impact on the weather or climate. Instead, they serve to deepen dependency on dirtier, less reliable energy sources abroad.

A Cynical Political Game

This isn’t governance… it’s sabotage. The Biden administration’s actions are a calculated move to delay LNG projects and trap the incoming administration in a maze of regulatory and legal challenges.

This is political lawfare in its purest form, leveraging bureaucratic tools to stall projects ideologically opposed by the current leadership, while hypocritically exploiting them when convenient.

The letter from Republican lawmakers rightly demands accountability and the preservation of all DOE records, highlighting the administration’s duplicity.

The administration’s actions betray allies, undermine U.S. energy leadership, and flout the legal boundaries of the NGA. Worse still, they demonstrate a willingness to sacrifice progress, stability, and security for partisan political gain.

Conclusion: Ideology Over Reality

The Biden administration’s obstruction of LNG exports is a dangerous mix of hypocrisy, ideological extremism, and political gamesmanship. At a time when U.S. LNG is essential to stabilizing markets and reducing reliance on adversaries, this administration has chosen pandering over pragmatism.

The stakes, geopolitical security, economic stability, and global energy futures, are too high to allow ideological purity to derail one of America’s greatest assets.

This sabotage is nothing less than a cynical ploy to appease radical climate activists at the expense of American workers, global allies, and the environment. The next administration must reverse this damage and reinstate policies grounded in science, practicality, and the national interest… not ideological crusades.

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