Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) at COP28 in Dubai call on Pres. Biden to stop the expansion of LNG infrastructure and exports
LNG being shipped. Photo courtesy US Department of Energy
By Ramona du Houx
December 10, 2023
DUBAI- Because of the climate crisis, caused by fossil fuel usage, 2023 was the hottest year on record, causing extreme weather devastation around the globe. A UN report warned that droughts supercharged by global heating were “an unprecedented emergency on a planetary scale,” leading to food shortages, famine and conflicts.
At COP28 Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) gave a briefing on environmental justice, energy security and the need to become energy independent. There they had an opportunity to speak about the need for their Energy Security Marshall Plan for Ukraine..
Since Putin invaded Ukraine, the United States and other countries have increased their liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade to help European Union and UK countries with fossil fuel imports they used to receive from Russia. Urgewald, and environmental think-tank reports that 1,023 companies around the world plan new LNG terminals, pipelines or gas-fired power plants.
The problem is stark. The global expansion of LNG infrastructure will lock in decades of emissions directly affecting the health of people and the planet for generations. It will exacerbate environmental injustice in historically marginalized communities. Furthermore, LNG hurts the potential development of clean energy by competing with it, making it harder for countries dependent on fossil fuels to become energy independent.
During COP28 in Dubai, more than 250 environmental and community groups including Elected Officials to Protect America called on U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration in an open letter to stop permitting LNG facilities.
Alex Cornell du Houx, President of Elected Officials to Protect America.speaking on a panel at COP28 with Dominic Frongillo, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Elected Officials to Protect America to his left.
“We have to stop being vulnerable to oil and gas fluctuations, and the dangers of being dependent on fossil fuels. Only clean energy will help countries become secure from petrostate autocrats,” said Dominic Frongillo, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Elected Officials to Protect America. “We commend Vice President Kamala Harris for her COP28 announcement to phase out all coal production in America. Now, we urge the Biden Administration to publicly commit to no further regulatory, financial, or diplomatic support for LNG in the U.S. or anywhere in the world.”
Over 1,100 elected officials have signed on an Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) National Climate Emergency Letter that includes calling for a federal plan and international cooperation to phase out fossil fuels, starting with stopping the expansion of fossil fuels.
“Removing our dependence on fossil fuels is the single most impactful action we can do to undercut authoritarian regimes. Using fossil fuels only exacerbates the climate crisis and keeps democratic nation’s dependent on autocratic nations,” said Alex Cornell du Houx, former Maine State Representative, Marine combat veteran, and President of Elected Officials to Protect America. “Clean energy is the only solution for a secure sustainable global economy.”
Big Oil’s export ambitions are multiplying existing harms throughout the U.S. Permian Basin extractions have increased, and along the Gulf coast. LNG exports from the U.S. are expected to double by 2027. Pending projects threaten to lock-in an annual 1400 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions — equivalent to 378 new coal plants. Carbon dioxide emissions from U.S. LNG facilities have risen by 81% since 2019, according to government data, amounting to the climate impact of several big coal-fired power plants.
“I’m glad that COP28 recognized that globally over 7 million people die prematurely because of fossil fuel pollution. Health should be foremost on their minds,” said Debbie Sariñana, NM State Representative, Air Force veteran EOPA National Leadership Council Co-Chair. “The explosion of LNG exports from the U.S. moves us in the wrong direction pushing us towards a rise in global temperature when we must keep any increase below 1.5 degrees Celsius. It’s an egregious move. The hypocrisy will endanger millions. We must stop the expansion of the global trade in liquefied natural gas (LNG), we have to stop undermining our own efforts to contain global warming. We must phase-out all fossil fuels to become energy independent and secure from petrostate dictators.”
António Guterres, the secretary general of the UN, at COP28 told leaders. “You can prevent planetary crash and burn. We have the technologies to avoid the worst of climate chaos – if we act now.”
More than 130 heads of state and government gathered in Dubai.