Fox News continues to make misleading statements about President Joe Biden’s commitment to providing liquefied natural gas exports to Europe, which has sought to move away from relying on Russian energy since the country invaded Ukraine in 2022.
On January 26, the White House announced it would be reviewing the process it uses to evaluate whether new LNG export facilities are in the public interest, “with the exception of unanticipated and immediate national security emergencies.” In the years since this process was last updated, scientists have published important new research concerning the likely underestimated health and environmental impacts of methane pollution. Now, the Department of Energy is set to pause approvals for some new facilities that are pending while it reconsiders how the construction would drive climate change.
Importantly, this decision will not restrict gas supplies to Europe. Several new export facilities have already been approved or are under construction, and those projects will not be affected by the recent announcement. But that hasn’t stopped Fox personalities from claiming that Biden’s decision is akin to abandoning our European allies to the benefit of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
During a February 22 interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Fox News anchor Bret Baier claimed that the Biden administration is “stopping the selling of liquid natural gas, which means that Russia may actually start selling liquid natural gas to Europe again. Do you have a problem with that?” Zelensky replied that European countries are “becoming independent from the energy standpoint.”
Baier pushed back, telling Zelensky that while the Biden administration is “trying to support you [and] push back on Russia, at the same time, in essence, by a climate change rule, they are supporting Russia to get more money.”