Sullivan Urges U.S. Lead on LNG; Biden Mum in Response

March 7, 2023

Railing against the U.S.’s continued actions that have led to increased energy imports and less domestic production, Alaska Republican Senator Dan Sullivan and others have made it clear: when it comes to exports of liquified natural gas (LNG), our country should be leading, not following others.

The Senators penned a letter to the U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Rham Emanuel, encouraging more investment in natural gas infrastructure among G-7 nations. The G-7 includes the U.S., United Kingdom, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, and Canada.

According to the Washington Examiner, “There remains a gap between the political commitment to backfill the supply of Russian gas taken off the market and the necessary policies to fill that gap,” the letter said. “Excessive restrictions on public financing of gas projects and unnecessary delays in approving privately-financed projects impede the development of critical infrastructure to expand output and exports.”

Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV), John Barrasso (R-WY), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), and Ted Cruz (R-TX) are other signatories.

For Emanuel, the U.S. is “all in” with Japan on investing in each other to “help each other strengthen our energy supply lines,” he told an audience of the Western States and Tribal Nations Summit in December.

Emanuel has run into direct opposition from International Climate Envoy, John Kerry, who wants traditional energy sources to be replaced by renewables faster than current technologies allow, citing the ‘climate crisis’ the world faces today.

No word yet on whether President Biden has taken a side on this fight, as the Fence-Sitter-in-Chief is doing what he does best in critical situations.