BAKU, Azerbaijan— U.S. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and U.S. and international advocates will hold a press conference Saturday to discuss the Biden administration's historic pause on liquified natural gas, or LNG, export approvals and urge completion of the Department of Energy's review before President-elect Trump takes office.
The event comes as reports indicate that DOE is rushing to finalize its analysis of LNG exports' economic and environmental impacts, setting up a critical 60-day window for action on pending terminals.
With mounting evidence that Europe's gas demand continues to decline and new research showing LNG's outsized climate harms, experts and advocates will discuss the urgent need for the Department of Energy to account for the climate, health and economic harms of LNG exports and reject pending export authorizations before the transition.
What: A press conference with Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and advocates about ending U.S. LNG export expansion as a key imperative for the outgoing Biden administration.
When: Saturday, Nov. 16, 2:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. local Baku time, 5 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. ET
Where: COP29 Blue Zone Area D, Press Conference Natavan
Livestream: https://unfccc.int/event/center-for-biological-diversity-10
Who:
U.S. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.)
Allie Rosenbluth, U.S. campaign manager, Oil Change International
Ievgeniia Kopytsia, Ph.D., associate professor at Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and research fellow at the Faculty of Law, University of Oxford
Gerry Arances, founder and executive director, Center for Energy, Ecology and Development, Philippines
Ben Goloff, senior climate campaigner, Center for Biological Diversity (moderator)
Background: In January 2024 President Biden announced a historic pause on new LNG export approvals to evaluate their full climate impacts. With President-elect Trump threatening to "unleash" unlimited LNG exports on day one of his presidency, the next 60 days are critical for U.S. energy policy. Studies show expanded exports could raise domestic energy prices by up to 52%, while Europe's gas demand continues to fall and current U.S. export capacity already exceeds allied needs.
