Washington, D.C. – Today, Elan Sykes, the Director of Energy and Climate Policy at the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI), released the following statement in response to the Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management update on the development of a framework to measure emissions for domestic oil and gas that would cover Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) exports.
“The Progressive Policy Institute applauds the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management for the progress made on developing a framework for the Measurement, Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MMRV) of oil and gas supply chain emissions.
“Since President Biden announced a pause to LNG export terminal expansion, PPI has been outspoken against the pause and advocated that DOE quickly create an environmental public interest test for LNG exports that is meaningful, workable, and transparent. Building this framework for domestic oil and gas supply chains is a crucial effort needed to develop accurate and comparable data across the U.S. industry. The framework would also allow for the adoption of a practical and clear environmental standard without excluding consideration of other economic or national security interests as required under the Natural Gas Act.
“While this announcement is a step in the right direction, the Biden administration should adopt an MMRV standard and immediately lift the pause on LNG export expansion, which poses major risks both domestically and internationally. President Biden has made tremendous progress in America’s clean energy transition and should instead build on this success by focusing on emissions reductions at home and abroad through faster domestic permitting, deployment of clean energy, and continued innovation to bring down the cost of low-carbon technologies for the world.”
PPI’s Energy and Climate Solutions Initiative has long been focused on the impact of U.S. LNG exports both domestically and internationally. In December, PPI released a report outlining the importance of U.S. LNG exports to Europe during the second winter of Russia’s war with Ukraine. In February, PPI released a memo to the White House outlining a productive and pragmatic approach to building a methane MMRV framework. PPI’s senior advisor, Tim Ryan, released an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal highlighting how the ban is bad politics for Democrats ahead of an election year.
Additionally, PPI has been actively engaged in policymaking discussions around the climate and energy security interests involved in the LNG exports pause, including briefings with the New Democrat Coalition and the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus.
The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) is a catalyst for policy innovation and political reform based in Washington, D.C. Its mission is to create radically pragmatic ideas for moving America beyond ideological and partisan deadlock. Learn more about PPI by visiting progressivepolicy.org. Find an expert at PPI and follow us on Twitter.
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Media Contact: Amelia Fox, afox@ppionline.org
