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President Biden Needs To
Stop
Oil & Gas
Exports

Gas and oil exports hurt our climate globally and communities locally. Big Oil gets the profits, while we pay the price. The Biden Administration must stop new export facilities, reinstate the crude export ban, and end oil and gas exports.

On April 19th 2021, over 200 organizations sent a letter to the Biden Administration demanding the US stop oil, gas and other fossil fuel exports.

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Petition:

Tell President Biden: Stop exporting Oil & Gas!

Tell President Biden and other federal policy makers to stop new fossil fuel export facilities and ban oil and gas exports.

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Why ban oil & gas exports?

Oil & Gas Exports Are A Climate Disaster 

A firefighter watches a blaze in a forest in the Pacific Northwest.

The Biden Administration has promised bold action to address the climate crisis. Expanding LNG and other oil, gas and coal exports will only increase global greenhouse gas emissions and lock-in decades of dirty fossil fuel infrastructure. The industry likes to claim that LNG is clean, but the methane emissions associated with its production and transportation make it nearly as dirty as coal.

The US can’t be a climate leader if it’s also the world’s largest fossil fuel dealer.

Oil & Gas Exports Hurt Our Communities 

A sign reading “Caution: Poison Gas” outside an oil facility.

New fossil fuel infrastructure and export facilities threaten our communities, especially for Black, Brown and Indigenous peoples. They pollute our air, poison our drinking water, and put our families at risk. All across the country, communities are coming together to stop these dangerous facilities.

Oil & Gas Exports Are Bad for Jobs

Workers need good, safe jobs in a clean energy economy.

As the US has increased fossil fuel exports, Big Oil CEOs have gotten the profits, while American families pay the price. Over the last decade, oil and gas companies have worked to cut jobs, creating less opportunity for workers. Meanwhile, they’ve lobbied against the transition to a clean energy economy that put millions of people to work. It’s time to build an economy that works for people, not polluters.

Oil & Gas Exports Are Bad For Our Security 

A frozen ceiling fan with icicles hanging from it during the Texas blackouts in February 2021.

We need to build an energy system that keeps the lights on when climate disasters strike. That means investing in building clean, reliable energy here at home rather than exporting fossil fuels abroad. Increasing US exports will only keep the world addicted to fossil fuels, empowering petro-dictatorships and worsening the climate emergency.

The Letter

Dear President Biden,

The climate crisis, caused overwhelmingly by fossil fuels, poses an existential threat to every aspect of society. The harms from fossil fuel extraction, exports and climate disruption fall first and worst on Black, Brown, Indigenous, and other Communities of Color, as well as low-wealth and other frontline communities. In order to limit warming to 1.5⁰ Celsius in line with the Paris Climate Agreement and advance environmental justice, the United States must not only stop producing and burning fossil fuels at home but also stop exporting them to be burned elsewhere. Accordingly, we ask that you use your executive authority as President to reinstate the ban on crude oil exports, ban gas exports, end coal exports, and reject proposed fossil fuel export infrastructure.  

In one of your first acts of climate leadership as President, you directed the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to “take steps, consistent with applicable law, to ensure that Federal infrastructure investment reduces climate pollution, and to require that Federal permitting decisions consider the effects of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.”

Accordingly, the undersigned organizations representing millions of supporters and members call on you to take action immediately as follows:

  1. Reinstate the ban on crude oil exports. Declare a Climate Emergency under the National Emergencies Act to reinstate the crude oil export ban on an annual basis.
  2. Ban gas exports to the fullest extent possible. Direct the Department of Energy to find that natural gas exports are not in the public interest due to their climate harms and stop approving new applications, at a minimum, to all countries without a free trade agreement as enumerated under the Natural Gas Act.
  3. Reject fossil fuel export infrastructure. Direct federal agencies to deny all permits and approvals for oil, gas, coal, and petrochemical export facilities except in the exceptionally rare circumstances where the applicable statute(s) may prohibit denial.

Oil and gas exports are on the rise, driven by the fracking boom and enabled by Congress’ reversal of the 40-year-old crude oil export ban in 2015. A 2020 report found that oil exports have increased by 750% since 2015, peaking at approximately 3.4 million barrels per day in 2019. As of October 2019, 24% of all crude extracted in the United States was exported. Gas exports are on a similar trajectory. In the first half of 2019, US liquid gas exports averaged 4.1 billion Bcf/d, more than double the daily average for 2018.

The surge of oil and gas exports is driven by a massive expansion of fracking, which has created booms and busts across the U.S. in the 17 years since the Energy Policy Act of 2005 was signed by President George W. Bush. Fracked oil and gas wells decline faster than conventional wells, leaving behind a scarred landscape and tremendous risk of closure liabilities to be borne by taxpayers.  

The latest, most dangerous oil and gas boom is in the Permian Basin. Situated over approximately 6,000 square miles in west Texas and Southeast New Mexico, the Permian is effectively the largest carbon bomb on the planet. Burning all the oil, gas, and gas liquids projected to be produced in the Permian Basin between 2021 and 2050 would emit 42 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide. This is equivalent to the annual emissions of 400 typical U.S. coal plants over the 31-year period — or roughly 10% of the world’s remaining carbon budget under a 1.5° scenario. This does not include emissions from methane releases, meaning the actual climate impact is likely magnitudes higher. Because US refiners cannot process more Permian crude, effectively every new barrel of oil produced is exported —causing substantial, unnecessary harm to communities and the climate along the way. If the dozens of proposed oil and LNG export projects under federal jurisdiction are built, Gulf Coast communities will suffer acute, significant impacts of added pollution, and then take a double hit when climate disasters strike. The urgency of changing course is all-too-real for Gulf Coast communities that were hit by 2020’s record-breaking hurricane season and 2021’s infrastructure-crippling deep freeze.

The 2015 legislation lifting the crude oil export ban allows the President to reinstate the ban on a year-by-year basis through declaring a national emergency under the National Emergencies Act, the law that codifies the emergency powers of the President. Since it was passed in 1976, every President has declared multiple national emergencies under this law. In April 2016, 350 organizations petitioned President Obama to reinstate the crude oil export ban, setting forth the climate rationale. Since that time, the case for reinstating the ban has only grown stronger and more urgent. In January, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called on you to declare a national climate emergency, alongside a growing chorus of Members of Congress advancing the National Climate Emergency Act of 2021 and nearly 750 organizations nationwide.

As President, you can also immediately ban at least a subset of gas exports. Parties seeking to export gas must file an application with the Department of Energy pursuant to the Natural Gas Act. While the Act mandates a finding of public interest for export to countries with existing free trade agreements, for exports to all other countries, you may clearly direct the Department of Energy on the criteria for the public interest finding. You have both the legal authority and the moral, scientific, and political imperative to find that gas exports are not in the public interest due to their climate harms and prohibit exports to countries to the fullest extent allowed under the Natural Gas Act.  

In addition, we call on you to do everything within your power as President to end coal exports. The U.S. is a net exporter of coal, one of the dirtiest fossil fuels. In 2020 the United States exported about 69 MMst of coal—equal to about 13% of U.S. coal production. We also ask you to end overseas finance for fossil fuel exports and infrastructure, consistent with a letter signed by over 400 organizations worldwide.

The United States must be a global leader in advancing climate, racial and economic justice, end the era of fossil fuel exports and build back fossil free, delivering jobs, justice, and opportunity for all.

Signed,

  • Carrizo-Comecrudo Tribe of Texas
  • Center for Biological Diversity
  • Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)
  • Delaware Riverkeeper Network
  • Earthworks
  • Food and Water Watch
  • Friends of the Earth US
  • Global Witness
  • Greenpeace USA
  • Indigenous Environmental Network
  • Indigenous People of the Coastal Bend
  • Oil Change International
  • Rogue Climate
  • Sierra Club
  • San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper
  • Society of Native Nations
  • Texas Campaign for the Environment
  • Turtle Island Restoration Network
  • 198 methods
  • 2degrees Northampton MA
  • 350 Chicago
  • 350 Conejo / San Fernando Valley
  • 350 Eugene
  • 350 Everett, WA
  • 350 Mass Metro North Node
  • 350 New Orleans
  • 350 Silicon Valley
  • 350 Tacoma
  • 350 Triangle
  • 350 Ventura County Climate Hub
  • 350.org
  • 350Hawaii
  • 350Kishwaukee (Illinois)
  • 350PDX
  • Action Center on Race and the Economy
  • Adorers of the Blood of Christ, US Region
  • Already Devalued and Devastated Homeowners of Parsippany
  • Animals Are Sentient Beings, Inc.
  • Animas Valley Institute
  • Another Gulf Is Possible
  • Anthropocene Alliance
  • Anything Solar Inc
  • Athens County Future Action Network
  • Be The Change – Colorado
  • Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Inc.
  • Benton County Oregon Green party
  • Berks Gas Truth
  • Better Path Coalition
  • Beyond Extreme Energy
  • Bold Alliance
  • Businesses for a Livable Climate
  • California Businesses for a Livable Climate
  • Call to Action Colorado
  • Cascadia Wildlands
  • Catholic Divestment Network
  • CatholicNetwork US
  • Center for a Competitive Waste Industry
  • Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT)
  • Central Bergen Circle of GreenFaith
  • CEO Pipe Organs/Golden Ponds Farm
  • Chatham Citizens Against Coal Ash Dump
  • Cheyenne River Grassroots Collective
  • Christians For The Mountain
  • Church Women United in New York State
  • Citizen Power, Inc.
  • Citizens for Clean Air and Water in Freeport Texas
  • Citizens for Renewables, Inc.
  • Citizens’ Climate Lobby – Ventura Chapter
  • Citizens’ Environmental Coalition
  • Clean Economy Coalition
  • Clean Energy Action
  • Clean Energy Action – Colorado
  • Clean Energy Now Texas
  • Climable, Inc.
  • Climate Action Now Western Mass
  • Climate Hawks Vote
  • Coalition Against Pilgrim Pipeline – NJ
  • Coalition Against Pipelines
  • Coalition to Protect New York
  • Colorado Businesses for a Livable Climate
  • Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach
  • Columbus Community Bill of Rights
  • Columbus Community Rights Coalition
  • Common Ground Rising
  • Concerned Health Professionals of New York
  • Concerned Ohio River Residents
  • Conejo Climate Coalition
  • Cooperative Energy Futures
  • Courage California
  • CURE
  • Deep Green Resistance
  • Don’t Gas the Meadowlands Coalition
  • Earth Action, Inc.
  • EARTHDAY.ORG
  • Eco-Eating
  • Eco-Justice Collaborative
  • ecoAmerica
  • EcoEquity
  • Elmirans & Friends Against Fracking
  • Empower our Future
  • Extinction Rebellion San Francisco Bay Area
  • FCCPR Climate Change Task Force
  • First United Methodist Church, Environmental Care Team
  • For Love of Water (FLOW)
  • Fossil Free California
  • Frac Sand Sentinel: Project Outreach
  • FracTracker Alliance
  • Franciscan Action Network
  • FreshWater Accountability Project
  • Fridays for Future USA
  • Fuerza Mundial
  • Future Coalition
  • George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication
  • Georgia Conservation Voters
  • Geos Institute
  • Global Exchange
  • Golden Egg Permaculture
  • Greater Brunswick PeaceWorks
  • Greater Highland Area Concerned Citizens
  • Green America
  • Green New DealVirginia
  • Green The Church
  • GreenFaith
  • GreenLatinos
  • GreenRoots
  • Hands Across the Sand
  • Harvard Solar Gardens
  • HEAL Utah
  • High Country Conservation Advocates
  • Hilton Head for Peace
  • Ingleside on the Bay Coastal Watch Association
  • Inland Ocean Coalition
  • Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
  • Institute for Policy Studies Climate Policy Program
  • Interfaith Earthkeepers of Eugene, OR
  • Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement
  • John Muir Project of Earth Island Institute
  • Jolt Action
  • Kickapoo Peace Circle
  • KyotoUSA
  • Labor Network for Sustainability
  • LaPlaca and Associates LLC
  • Linn-Benton Pacific Green Party
  • Long Beach Alliance for Clean Energy
  • Marcellus Outreach Butler
  • Maryland Ornithological Society
  • Massachusetts Forest Watch
  • Mazaska Talks
  • Milwaukee Riverkeeper
  • Mission Blue / Sylvia Earle Alliance
  • Mothers Out Front
  • Mountain Progressives
  • Native Movement
  • New York Communities for Change
  • NMEAC
  • No Methanol 360
  • No Sharon Gas Pipeline | Clean Energy Now!
  • Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson
  • North American Climate,Conservation and Environment (NACCE)
  • North Carolina Council of Churches
  • North Range Concerned Citizens
  • Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council
  • NY4WHALES
  • NYC H2O
  • NYCD16 Indivisible
  • O.U.R.S. (Organized Uplifting Resources & Strategies)
  • Oceanic Preservation Society
  • Our Santa Fe River, Inc.
  • Pacific Green Party of Oregon, Linn-Benton Chapter
  • People for a Healthy Environment
  • People’s Party
  • Plastic Pollution Coalition
  • PNM Shareholders for a Responsible Future
  • President- Seeds for the Sol
  • Progressive Democrats of America
  • Property Rights and Pipeline Center
  • Public Lands Project
  • Quantum Whale
  • Rachel Carson Council
  • RapidShift Network
  • Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association
  • Resource Renewal Institute
  • Rio Arriba Concerned Citizens
  • River Guardian Foundation
  • RootsAction.org
  • SanDiego350
  • Save Our Illinois Land
  • Save RGV
  • SAVE THE FROGS!
  • Seeding Sovereignty
  • Seventh Generation
  • Sisters of Charity Federation
  • Sisters of St. Dominic of Blauvelt, New York
  • SoCal 350 Climate Action
  • Social Eco Education (SEE-LA)
  • South Umpqua Rural Community Partnership
  • Spottswoode Winery, Inc.
  • Stand.earth
  • Sunflower Alliance
  • Sunrise Corvallis
  • Sunrise Marin Hub
  • Sustainable Arizona
  • Synerjy
  • Syracuse Cultural Workers
  • The Borneo Project
  • The Climate Center
  • The Climate Mobilization
  • The Last Plastic Straw
  • The Lilies Project
  • The People’s Justice Council
  • The Wei LLC
  • Tucson Climate Action Network
  • Unite North Metro Denver
  • United for Action
  • Upper Valley Affinity Group (Vermont)
  • Utah Citizens Advocating Renewable Energy
  • Utah Clean Infrastructure Coalition
  • Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment
  • Utah Tar Sands Resistance
  • UU Congregation of Binghamton, Green Sanctuary
  • Vote Climate
  • Wall of Women
  • Wasatch Clean Air Coalition
  • WATCH, INC
  • WildEarth Guardians
  • Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN)
  • www.SafeEnergyAnalyst.org
  • Zero Hour

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