Re: 'This Isn't Just Bad Policy, It's Bad Politics': Biden Blocks Several Huge Natural Gas Projects

[Demented Joe]

In <RqTsN.64375$Sf59....@fx48.iad>
Trump Beat Me <bigtrump...@protonmail.com> wrote:

> Trump is the captain of my ship.


While the professed fossil-fuel-loathing president has hysterically
declared war on everything from residential gas furnaces to gas
stoves to even gas dishwashers, his quest never ends.

In a Friday morning announcement, the White House and Department of
Energy (DOE) revealed their next target — and it's enormous.

The White House is halting the permitting process for several
proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal projects over
their potential impacts on climate change, an unprecedented move
environmentalists have demanded in recent months.

[T]he pause [will] occur while federal officials conduct a rigorous
environmental review assessing the projects' carbon emissions, which
could take more than a year to complete. Climate activists have
loudly taken aim at LNG export projects in recent weeks, arguing
they will lead to a large uptick in emissions and worsen global
warming.

The ever-smug Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told reporters on a
press call:

As our exports increase, we must review export applications using
the most comprehensive up-to-date analysis of the economic,
environmental, and national security considerations. This action
includes a pause on pending applications for exports of U.S. natural
gas as LNG to non-free trade agreement countries until the
department can update the underlying analyses for authorizations.

National security considerations? Do you mean like the national
security considerations Biden takes into account as continues to
allow illegal aliens to stream into this country at a record clip?
Please.

Granholm continued, with what amounted to a ridiculous — and false
— disclaimer:

The U.S. is committed to affordable energy and economic
opportunities for all Americans. We are committed to strengthening
energy security here in the U.S. and with our allies. And we're
committed to protecting Americans against climate change as we lead
the world into a clean energy future.

Allow me to fix that.

"We're committed to driving up natural gas prices in hopes that a
majority of Americans will become more amenable to unstable and
unproven 'clean energy' alternatives. And we're even more committed
to continuing to kowtow to environmental alarmists and other left-
wingers because we desperately need their votes."

There — that's more like it.

Here's more (emphasis, mine):

While it is unclear which proposed projects the action will affect,
a senior administration official told reporters at least two have a
larger capacity and two have a smaller capacity. Another official
added that the pause implemented Friday will only impact projects
that have gone through the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's
(FERC) lengthy approval process and are ripe for DOE approval.

According to federal data updated this week, there are 11 projects
that have been green-lit by FERC but are not yet under construction.
An additional four projects are pending before FERC and two are in
the pre-filing stage. Those six projects wouldn't be impacted by the
pause since they are not before DOE yet, but they would be impacted
if approved by FERC.

White House climate czar Ali Zaidi's statement was predictable as
hell, saying in part:

From day one, we have stood with our allies and partners. That's how
Joe Biden leads on climate change. And when it comes to the climate
crisis, we square our shoulders, we take on the challenge in front
of us, we lean into the solutions and, yes, we transition globally
away from fossil fuels. That is the solution, that is the strategy
that the president has articulated.

We're doing this weeks removed from a U.N. climate conference where
the United States, under President Biden's leadership, was out front
making sure that the global community was clear-eyed about the need
to transition globally away from fossil fuels.

Former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chair Neil Chatterjee
told Fox News Digital that the Biden administration is making a big
mistake.

I think they're really making a miscalculation here. This isn't just
bad policy, it's bad politics. We made a commitment to our European
allies, to Germany, that we would be there and help them. You really
should not be playing politics with energy security.

"What's really frustrating from the environmental perspective is
that U.S. LNG actually displaces more intense fossil sources of fuel
overseas. We have a much cleaner process than the Russians do. So,
not only are we providing geopolitical assets to our allies, but
U.S. LNG displacing dirtier sources of fuels actually lowers global
carbon emissions. And the activists seem to be just kind of brushing
over that.


Finally, House Speaker Mike Johnson released a statement following
the White House announcement, warning that Biden is playing into
Russian President Vladimir Putin's hand.

This announcement by President Biden is as outrageous as it is
subversive. Stalling LNG export terminals, like Calcasieu Pass 2 in
Louisiana, not only prevents America’s economic growth, it empowers
our adversaries like Vladimir Putin.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, American petroleum
producers have increased LNG shipments to our partners in Europe to
prevent a catastrophic, continent-wide energy crisis and to provide
an alternative to Russian energy exports.

It is outrageous that this administration is asking American
taxpayers to spend billions to defeat Russia while knowingly forcing
allies to rely on Russian energy, giving Putin an advantage.

This policy change also flies in the face of the commitments made
when the White House announced the joint US-EU Task Force less than
two years ago to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russia and strengthen
energy security.

Nailed it. The question is, whether Biden is capable of
understanding the gravity of the Speaker's statement. The answer is
no doubt chilling.

The Bottom Line
If the environmental alarmist crowd came out today and announced it
has changed its position on natural gas, Joe Biden would be singing
its praises before he eats his pudding cup and goes nighty-night.

https://redstate.com/mike_miller/2024/01/26/this-isnt-just-bad-
policy-its-bad-politics-biden-blocks-several-huge-natural-gas-
projects-n2169236