US President Joe Biden has ordered a pause to pending and future approvals to export LNG, as Reuters reports.

During the pause, the Department of Energy has been tasked with reviewing the environmental, security, and economic impacts of additional LNG exports, with Mr Biden explaining in a statement that the moves “sees the climate crisis for what it is: the existential threat of our time”. The review is expected to take some months, after which there will be a period of public consultation, meaning that the pause may still be in place by the time of the US presidential election in November, making it sure to become an election issue.

It has already been welcomed by some environmental campaigners and criticised by a campaign spokesperson for former President Donald Trump, while there has been a mixed reaction from industry. Domestic consumers of natural gas, such as chemicals and steel makers, as well as some food processing and agricultural producers, oppose unrestricted exports of natural gas, while producers of natural gas generally wish for a freer market and argue that replacing coal or oil burning with natural gas lowers greenhouse gas emissions. A previous review of LNG exports was conducted under the Trump administration in 2018.

An exemption is in place for issues of national security, should allied countries find themselves in dire need, and current buyers of LNG from the USA have been reassured that the pause will not affect them. Nevertheless, the move will, even should the pause end and future exports be allowed, give potential customers reason to think twice about signing new deals.  

The USA became the world’s largest exporter of LNG last year.