Greens target insurance to hobble gas exports

By ARIANNA SKIBELL

06/05/2023 05:59 PM EDT

A rendering of the proposed Alaska LNG export project in Nikiski, Alaska. | Alaska Gasline Development Corp.

Record-high natural gas shipments from U.S. ports to Europe and Asia are pitting environmental critics against a key part of the business: insurance.

A coalition of groups led by Public Citizen and Rainforest Action Network is launching a campaign to pressure major insurers to pull their coverage of liquefied natural gas export terminals along the U.S. Gulf Coast, writes Mike Sorgahan.

The goal is to make it difficult — or more expensive — for exporters to insure their facilities, which chill gas to temperatures so low it turns into a liquid that can be shipped overseas.

Natural gas is a major source of methane, a potent heat-trapping pollutant that contributes to climate change. The coalition targeting LNG exports argues that insurance companies that publish corporate goals for addressing climate change should ditch their financial ties to fossil fuels.

"It's unconscionable that insurers are covering the very industries that are causing the climate crisis," said Mary Lovell, energy finance campaigner at Rainforest Action Network, "then sticking their customers with the consequences in terms of higher premiums and withdrawals of coverage."

Insurers and natural gas companies defend natural gas exports as a necessary part of the transition to lower-emissions energy — a sentiment echoed by the Biden administration. During POLITICO's inaugural energy summit last month, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm described natural gas as a vital "energy security play" while the country transitions away from fossil fuels.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, the Biden administration embraced expanded natural gas exports as a way to help Europe wean itself off of Russian gas. Eight LNG export terminals are operating in the United States, and two more are under construction along the Gulf Coast. In addition, the administration revived an LNG export project last month in Alaska, and other projects await federal approval.

The global demand for natural gas is expected to grow 42 percent by 2030, according to the consultancy Rystad Energy.

But opponents argue that natural gas may be no better for the climate than coal, when factoring in leaks from pipelines and other faulty equipment. Recent research suggests that regulators underestimate methane emissions from oil and gas production.

It's Monday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I’m your host, Arianna Skibell. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to [email protected]

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As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wages culture war in his bid for the White House, he's taken aim at investment strategies with environmental, social and governance goals, calling them "ideological joyrides," writes Jacob Soll.

Last month, he signed a law that bars state officials from making ESG investments or ESG bond sales.

But the idea that moral concerns have value — and that money should be invested according to them — goes back to the origins of capitalism. It's also an approach steeped in American history, Soll writes.

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Fighting fire with financeA startup called Blue Forest Conservation is working to reshape how the American West funds the fight against wildfires, writes Avery Ellfeldt.

Rather than wait for government funds, the group created a unique bond that pools money from private investors, public agencies, utilities and companies to pump millions of dollars into wildfire projects upfront — and finish the job years in advance.

Picking up energy House Republicans will focus on energy and the environment this week after lawmakers defused the debt limit crisis, writes Timothy Cama.

Majority Leader Steve Scalise scheduled votes on a slate of bills meant to stop the Biden administration from regulating natural gas-burning stoves. Also on the agenda are bills to roll back the executive branch's rulemaking powers.

Right to ‘exist’Imagine a court hearing where the plaintiff is not a person, but a damaged river, lake or mountain, writes Antonia Zimmermann.

That's the vision of a movement of conservationists — gaining traction across Europe — that believes granting basic legal rights to nature can help protect it from threats like deforestation, biodiversity loss, chemicals pollution and climate change.

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That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.