House Republicans are making a case directly to France’s President Emmanuel Macron that his government is wrong to block a $7 billion deal to import U.S. liquefied natural gas because of concerns about climate change.
Reps. Garret Graves of Louisiana and Dan Crenshaw of Texas said U.S. LNG is much cleaner than gas delivered by pipeline from Russia and other competitors in the Middle East in a letter sent to Macron on Monday that was obtained by the Washington Examiner. Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota sent a similar letter to Macron.
The House Republicans who signed the letter, who also include leader Kevin McCarthy and Minority Whip Steve Scalise, said U.S. LNG shipments to the European Union result in fewer greenhouse gas emissions over time than some of the largest exporters to France, including Russia and Algeria.
“We ask that your government please re-examine the facts and reconsider this ill-informed decision, which we believe is detrimental to our joint energy security goals and efforts to reduce global emissions,” the Republicans wrote.
The French government’s move has also drawn the attention of the Trump administration. The Energy and State departments have both spoken out about the decision and the broader scrutiny that Europe, the largest importer of natural gas, is placing on U.S. fossil fuel exports as it becomes more aggressive about limiting climate change.
France’s government recently intervened to delay a commercial agreement between a power company, Engie, to buy LNG delivered from NextDecade’s planned Rio Grande export facility in Brownsville, Texas. The French government, which has a part ownership stake in Engie, worries that U.S. natural gas producers emit too much methane at the West Texas oil and gas field that would supply the gas to the export facility.
Natural gas emits half the carbon of coal, the dirtier electricity source it often replaces abroad. But natural gas also produces methane, a more potent, though short-lived, greenhouse gas that leaks when companies produce and transport the fuel.
The incident with France highlights a growing concern among natural gas exporters and analysts that the Trump administration’s rollbacks of methane regulations from oil and gas operations could make U.S. LNG less competitive globally.
That’s especially true if Europe imposes methane emissions standards on imports as part of its climate agenda.
“As we see mandates coming from the EU, they are going to want to know our government is involved with reducing methane,” Charlie Riedl, executive director for the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas, an industry trade group, recently told the Washington Examiner.
Still, House Republicans argued that France and Europe are setting back their climate goals by singling out the U.S.
“France and the rest of the EU are missing an important opportunity to utilize U.S. energy resources to advance global emissions goals, including those in the Paris agreement,” the Republicans wrote.
