A pause in US gas export approvals: a big win for the climate?
The Energy Gang
Wood Mackenzie
4.6 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 6 February 2024
⏱️ 54 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The US is the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), super-cooled to about -160 °C (or -260 °F) so it can be shipped in tankers. An investment boom means export capacity will soar over the next few years. But last month the Biden administration signaled it was putting the brakes on future growth, announcing a “pause” in new approvals for LNG plants to export to nations that don’t have a free trade agreement with the US.
This decision is expected to stall future US LNG projects by preventing them accessing key global markets including the EU, China, Japan, and the UK. The pause could be an issue in November’s elections: former President Donald Trump has said he would immediately restart approvals if elected.
On the show this week, Ed Crooks is joined by Melissa Lott, Director of Research at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, and Emily Grubert, Associate Professor of sustainable energy policy at the University of Notre Dame, to discuss the implications of the pause for both the US and the global energy market.
If the US is exporting less gas, what will that mean for buyers around the world? What will be the impact on global greenhouse gas emissions, and living standards in lower-income countries? And what are the Biden administration’s motivations in announcing the pause? The gang explore the issues.
Also on the show, the fuel that could replace natural gas, at least for some uses: hydrogen. There has been a lot of excitement over hydrogen, especially over green hydrogen made by electrolysing water, which could in principle have zero carbon emissions. But how green is it really?
The US Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have had a go at answering that question, setting out practical rules for defining low-carbon hydrogen, so they can decide on eligibility for tax credits under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.
Melissa, Emily and Ed debate whether these proposed rules make sense, and what they mean for the development of a low-carbon hydrogen industry in the US and around the world.
The Energy Gang is partnering with Distributech, the premier annual event for energy transmission and distribution. This year it’s in Orlando, Florida, from Februrary 26th. We’ll be recording a special episode from the event, which will be out on Thursday the 29th as the event wraps up. Claim 20% off your registration with the code DTPART33.
Articles referenced in this episode:
www.energypolicy.columbia.edu/consequences-of-the-pause-for-us-lng
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ac71ba/meta
www.nytimes.com/2023/08/07/opinion/oil-fossil-fuels-clean-energy.html
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Wood Mackenzie's online future-facing commodities forum is back for its third year. |
| 0:05.0 | Join us online on March the 27th for an open discussion with our experts on renewables, |
| 0:09.6 | EVs and advanced battery technology. |
| 0:12.1 | There will be two events on that date, one during the |
| 0:14.4 | day in the Asia Pacific region and one during the day in Europe and the Americas, so you should |
| 0:18.6 | be able to find a time to suit you wherever you are in the world. At either one you'll be able to get insights from our unparalleled |
| 0:24.7 | integrated coverage of the renewables, battery and electric vehicles value chains. You'll be able to |
| 0:29.8 | hear our industry leading analysts unpack their forecasts for key future-facing commodities, |
| 0:34.6 | including lithium, nickel, copper, aluminium and rare earths. Learn how technology, geopolitics and regulation |
| 0:41.2 | are transforming the metals markets as we build an electrified future. |
| 0:45.0 | To register go to go dot woodmack.com slash FFCF 2024. |
| 0:50.0 | You can find the details in today's show notes. Hello and welcome to the energy gang. |
| 1:00.2 | I'm it Crooks. Today on the show we're going to be talking about |
| 1:05.1 | gas. Well I suppose in fact we're going to be talking about two gases in particular we're going to be talking |
| 1:10.0 | about methane CH4 more commonly known as natural gas and also we're going to be about in our energy system. And to talk about those two gases I'm joined by Melissa Lott, |
| 1:23.7 | who's the research director at Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy |
| 1:27.5 | and a professor at Columbia's Climate School. Hi Melissa, how are you? |
| 1:30.4 | Hey Ed, I'm good, and I'm really good |
| 1:33.0 | because of the person you're about to introduce next. |
| 1:35.0 | I can't wait for this conversation with them. |
| 1:38.7 | Yeah, indeed, indeed. |
| 1:39.8 | It's a great pleasure to have back. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Wood Mackenzie, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Wood Mackenzie and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.