Biden delays consideration of new natural gas export terminals. Democrat cites risk to climate

By MATTHEW DALY
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is delaying consideration of new natural gas export terminals in the United States, even as gas shipments to Europe and Asia have soared in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. President Joe Biden’s election-year decision aligns with environmentalists who fear the huge increase in exports, in the form of liquefied natural gas or LNG, is locking in potentially catastrophic planet-warming emissions at a time when Biden has pledged to cut climate pollution in half by 2030. Industry groups condemned the move as a “win for Russia,″ while environmentalists cheered it as a way to counter Biden’s controversial approval of the huge Willow oil project in Alaska last year.