In an announcement that thrilled many and alarmed many more, the U.S. pipeline operator Energy Transfer announced a 20-year agreement with oil and gas giant Chevron to provide them with liquefied natural gas (LNG), Reuters reported.
What's happening?
The agreement will see Energy Transfer supplying two million tons of LNG to Chevron each year, Reuters explained, which it is sourcing from its Lake Charles project in Louisiana.
Energy Transfer had originally proposed to build its own facility at Lake Charles in 2015, but it has been unable to garner enough customer interest to justify building it. Instead, its harvested LNG will now be funneled to Chevron and distributed from there.
"We believe that Lake Charles is the most compelling LNG project on the Gulf Coast and we continue to make significant progress towards full commercialization of this project." Tom Mason, president of Energy Transfer's LNG unit, said.
Why is LNG so controversial?
While "natural" might suggest that natural gas — and therefore LNG — is a clean or renewable fuel, this is not the case. As the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) phrased it on its website, "LNG, derived from cooling fossil gas to store and transport over long distances, is part of the array of fossil fuels standing in the way of climate progress."
In fact, research from Cornell University found that transporting natural gas might be even more harmful to the planet than simply burning coal, as methane leaks during the process allow even more toxic compounds to escape into the atmosphere, the New Yorker reported.
And while many energy companies tout LNG as a "greener" option than traditional coal, experts on the subject agree that this is essentially no more than greenwashing — supporting the continued use of a fuel that is actively contributing to the planet's overheating crisis.
What's being done to counteract this?
Advocates for clean energy were dismayed by the 20-year Chevron deal, especially since it comes during an era when scientists agree there is no more time to delay reducing emissions.
If humans hope to avoid suffering the brunt of the damages that result from an increasingly hot atmosphere — from severe wildfires and storms to threats to agriculture and a loss of biodiversity — we need to focus on transitioning to clean energy, not supporting dirty fuel sources.
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