How far will green energy proponents go to push their agenda? Well, apparently so far they will go against science and hide information from the American people—even information that shows benefits to the very environment they claim to protect.
Last month, it was revealed that former President Biden’s Department of Energy buried a September 2023 study on liquefied natural gas (LNG) that revealed that increased LNG exports had little effect on domestic natural gas prices and would actually lower global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
That determination is reinforced by data from the Center for LNG. Switching to natural gas to generate electricity is the top reason the U.S. has been so successful at lowering emissions since 2005. That same principle can be applied abroad. U.S. LNG nearly halves the emissions from the use of coal in Europe and Asia. In a head-to-head comparison, natural gas exported from the U.S. even has significantly lower emissions than natural gas from Russia.
So, why would they hide their own report that had seemingly positive findings? The answer seems to be that it didn’t reinforce their decision to halt (or “pause,” if you want to use the Biden-speak) approvals of U.S. LNG export licenses. Or, more broadly, it contradicted the scorched earth scenario the green-at-any-cost crowd likes to paint of our energy future—where they claim that any use of traditional energy sources like oil and natural gas will doom us forever.
Fast forward to December 2024, as the former administration was practically out the door, and a new DOE report was released under the exact same title. However, a key part of the 2023 report had been erased. An analysis of what’s called “the consideration of market effects.” That analysis determined the U.S. LNG exports would bring down global emissions by displacing more polluting sources of energy used abroad.
When the December 2024 report was release, then-Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm even said that the reported showed “in every scenario, increases in LNG exports would lead to increases in global net emissions.” Well, every scenario except the one that they cut out.
Thankfully, there’s a new sheriff in town.
Thankfully, the new administration is not making its energy decisions based on a green agenda or any agenda for that matter. Policies are being made based on science and economic principles. As they should be. On his first day back in office, President Trump removed the Biden “pause” on LNG export approvals. And, new energy secretary, Chris Wright, made five LNG-related approvals between taking the job in February and mid-March.
As Secretary Wright put it at CERAWeek 2025: “I’m honored to play a role in reversing what I believe has been very poor direction in energy policy. The previous administration’s policy was focused myopically on climate change with people as simply collateral damage. My predecessor was on this stage one year ago, saying that LNG exports would soon be in the rearview mirror. Think about that for a moment. Natural gas today supplies 25% of global primary energy and has been the fastest growing source of energy over the last 15 years.”
Those are the facts. Natural gas is the most affordable, reliable and clean energy source in our energy mix. Its advantages are countless and the energy it contributes globally can hardly be replaced—or erased no matter how many DOE studies they fudge. And, that is all a very good thing. An abundant energy sources with all those advantages makes the world a better place. The U.S. is a “natural gas superpower.”
And, when America is the key producer of that energy source for our own needs and globally, that makes us and the world safer and cleaner. Former Energy Secretary Granholm couldn’t have got it more wrong. U.S. LNG is the literal light on the world’s horizon—not in its rearview mirror. Our ability to supply the world with natural gas is only growing.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. LNG export capacity will likely increase from 11.5 billion cubic feet per day in 2023 to 24.4. in 2028—more than doubling in the next five years. As energy author Robert Bryce puts it: “If that happens, US LNG export capacity will equal or exceed, the gas production of both Iran and China. (In 2023, Iran produced 24.3 Bcf/d, and China produced 22.7 Bcf/d). That, ladies and gentlemen, is evidence that the US is a natural gas superpower.”
Our ability to supply the world with natural gas has become possible because the U.S. leads the world in natural gas production. U.S. natural gas production plateaued sometime in the 1970s. But, in 2005, it started to grow again significantly. That achievement was been driven by groundbreaking technological advances like hydraulic fracturing that have allowed us to tap America’s extensive natural resources. Since then, U.S. natural gas production has more than doubled. According to Bryce’s analysis of data, the U.S. is now producing more natural gas than Canada, China, Iran, Norway, and Qatar combined.
But that achievement was also possible because of leaders making policies that nurtured growth, technology, and economic investment. We welcome a return to that kind of leadership, which we are now seeing from President Trump and his Energy Dream Team appointees. But we must be vigilant. If we allow ourselves to be dragged backward by short-sighted leaders with a politicized green agenda, we will sacrifice our standing as a world energy superpower to the countries that follow on that list, like Russia, Iran, and China. That isn’t good for the world, and it certainly isn’t good for America.
The Empowerment Alliance (TEA) is a 501(c)(4) organization founded in 2019 that advocates for U.S. energy independence, according to EmpoweringAmerica.org. TEA supports using American innovation and free-market principles to ensure affordable, reliable, and clean energy.
