Scientists Call on Biden Admin. to Follow the Facts on LNG Exports and Gas-Sourced Hydrogen, Citing Alarming New Research on Methane Emissions

More than 125 climate, environmental, and health scientists and researchers sent a letter to the Biden administration today expressing serious concerns over liquid natural gas (LNG) export approvals and tax incentives for natural gas-sourced hydrogen production. The letter cites a new study clarifying the enormous 20-year greenhouse gas impact of methane, the primary component of natural gas.

The newly published research from Cornell University climate scientist Dr. Robert Howarth details the devastating climate impact of exported LNG as a fuel source, showing it to have a 33 percent greater greenhouse gas footprint than coal. The study properly accounts for the full life-cycle of LNG fuel, including extraction, liquefaction, transportation and end-source combustion.

The scientists’ letter, sent to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, directly addresses the two agency’s pending reviews of the climate impacts of LNG exports and hydrogen fuel, respectively. The letter was facilitated by Food & Water Watch and the Science & Environmental Health Network. The letter states, in part:

An abundance of scientific evidence now shows that natural gas is at least as damaging to the climate as coal and may be worse due to inevitable leaks… As is now documented in many studies, fugitive methane emissions from U.S. drilling and fracking operations are omnipresent, much higher than previously supposed, and a main driver of rising methane emissions in the United States… In sum, with atmospheric methane levels surging, we urge you to adopt strong modeling assumptions, as does Dr. Howarth.

In August, Congressional Republicans specifically attacked an advanced copy of Dr. Howarth’s new research, claiming usage of “flawed methodology,” citing a faulty analysis from a pro-fossil fuel think tank. In fact, Howarth’s methodology and time-framing is in line with established science, as today’s letter to the administration details.

“Methane is the Houdini of greenhouse gasses, escaping into the atmosphere from all parts of the natural gas system at a pace that far exceeds earlier estimates. And over 20 years, methane is a far more powerful climate villain than ever previously appreciated,” said Sandra Steingraber, PhD, senior scientist at Science & Environmental Health Network. ”Taken together, these findings mean that the modeling assumptions chosen for estimating the climate impacts of LNG and hydrogen fuels could not be higher. It’s imperative that our Departments of Energy and Treasury base their climate modeling assumptions on the abundance of scientific evidence and not the distorted claims and wishful thinking of the fossil fuel industry.”

“The science is clearer than ever: LNG exports and natural gas-sourced hydrogen pose grave risks to our planet and will undermine President Biden’s own climate goals,” said Jim Walsh, policy director at Food & Water Watch. “This administration must ignore industry propaganda, follow legitimate science, and reject the expansion of fossil fuel programs like LNG exports and gas-sourced hydrogen.”