Statement of Support for US Government Decision to Halt Permitting of LNG Export Terminals and Caution on Legal Risks to Banks

ClientEarth strongly welcomes the recent decision by the Biden Administration to pause the permitting process for liquefied fossil gas (LNG) exports to non-Free Trade Agreement countries, which was announced on January 26 2024. The decision affects 12 LNG terminals currently under review and validates the growing consensus that LNG projects pose a grave stranded asset risk to financers. We call for the pause to be made permanent, on grounds that the terminals are not in the public interest, a threshold requirement under U.S. federal law.