US demands EU reverse new climate rules to allow surge in gas imports | Trump administration

The United States has demanded that the European Union roll back its climate and human rights rules to allow more liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports, as the Trump administration approved a controversial gas export center along the Gulf Coast.

A letter sent jointly by the United States and Qatar, two of the world’s three largest LNG exporters, warned the EU that its new rules pose an “existential threat” to European economies as they would hamper gas imports from countries like theirs.

The EU should either completely repeal or significantly scale back the new rules, known as the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, according to the letter. The directive, expected to be debated by EU lawmakers next week, requires gas exporters to the 27-nation bloc to show they are protecting human rights and reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, or face hefty fines.

“Its implementation could jeopardize existing and future investments, employment and compliance with recent trade agreements,” the letter said. “There is no doubt that natural gas and LNG will remain an essential energy source and a key part of the EU energy mix for many decades. »

The letter is the latest move by the Trump administration to not only boost the use of fossil fuels on American soil, but also to ensure that the world remains committed to these fuels, taking aim at countries’ climate laws in the process. Trump himself urged the United Kingdom to drill for more oil and stop wind power, calling wind turbines “ugly monsters” and a “scam” during a meeting with Keir Starmer, the British prime minister, in July.

During the same trip, the EU agreed to buy $750 billion worth of U.S. oil and gas by 2028, to replace fuels from Russia, although the viability of that deal has been called into question. A subsequent trip to Europe by Chris Wright, the US energy secretary, also highlighted the administration’s hostility to climate action, with Wright calling net-zero emissions policies a “colossal train disaster” and the Paris climate agreement “stupid”.

LNG is gas that has been cooled, loaded onto ships and sent overseas to be burned. Long championed by its supporters as a relatively clean fuel, recent research has called this into question. When gas transportation is taken into account, LNG may be even worse for the climate than coal, the study found.

In the United States, a frenzy of new LNG infrastructure is being built, with the Trump administration pledging to accelerate approvals to support its “energy dominance” agenda. Scientists have made it clear that the United States and the rest of the world must quickly transition away from fossil fuels to avoid disastrous global warming.

On Wednesday, Trump’s Energy Department announced it had given final export approval for Venture Global’s CP2 project, a massive LNG terminal planned for coastal Louisiana. Once built, the terminal could export up to 3.96 billion cubic feet of LNG per day overseas.

As an expansion of Venture Global’s existing LNG operations, CP2 will generate about 190 million tons of greenhouse gases per year, equivalent to the pollution emitted by 54 coal-fired power plants, according to one analysis.

“In less than 10 months, President Trump’s administration is redefining what it means to unleash American energy by approving record new LNG exports,” said Kyle Haustveit, deputy secretary for the Office of Fossil Energy at the Department of Energy.

CP2 is expected to be completed by 2027, according to Mike Sabel, managing director of Venture Global. “Venture Global is grateful for the Trump administration’s final approval of CP2, a critical project that will provide U.S. allies with low-cost LNG for decades, support thousands of jobs and greatly benefit the U.S. balance of trade,” Sabel said.

The Trump administration lifted a previous pause on new LNG terminals set up during Joe Biden’s term, although the Energy Department determined that exporting gas would raise energy prices for American households.

The construction of CP2 has also raised concerns about the impact on the local community along Louisiana’s Cameron Parish coast, which has long had to deal with pollution, noise and the impacts of the fossil fuel industry on fishing.

“LNG exports increase the costs of Americans’ energy bills, are disastrous for communities like Cameron Parish, increase public health harm and perpetuate the climate crisis,” said Sierra Club activist Mahyar Sorour.

“It is horrifying that while Americans suffer every day, the Trump administration’s solution is to advance projects that will worsen that suffering for the sole purpose of enriching the executives of big oil and gas companies.”