The Biden Administration's LNG Pause: Impacts and Long‐Term Implications

The Biden Administration's widely publicized January “pausing” of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) review of liquefied natural gas (LNG) export permits sent a rolling wave of concern throughout the natural gas industry, as well as a small bubble of delight among environmental organizations and domestic industrial organizations who have long been opposed to LNG exports. What is the significance of the pause, both in the immediate term and more broadly? Do a few months of delay significantly matter, or, more importantly, does the pause suggest an anti‐LNG attitude in moving forward to address greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions?