Washington, DC (December 14, 2023) – “President Biden: End The Gas Boom and Stop CP2,” Greenpeace USA demanded through a series of projections across the National Mall and Washington, DC.
Images of methane flares and testimonies from frontline activists appeared on buildings across the city to shed light on the potential threat posed by methane gas expansion. The projections highlighted CP2, one of the largest of 20 proposed methane gas projects (also called liquefied natural gas or LNG). CP2, which is planned in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, could produce as much greenhouse gas emissions as 32 coal plants, harming communities and pushing us further into climate chaos. The Biden Administration is expected to choose whether to accept or deny the project early next year.
The science is clear that any fossil fuel expansion is incompatible with preventing the worst impacts of climate catastrophe. Methane gas is not a bridge to clean energy; it’s a toxic fossil fuel that is driving climate change and has been linked to higher rates of cancer, heart disease, asthma. Meanwhile, local workers see little economic value from this expansion of gas as most of it is exported to other countries.
James Hiatt, Founder, For A Better Bayou said: “They call it the bridge to the future. There’s no bridge. This is a bridge to nowhere. It’s a bridge to more suffering. Future generations will pay the price of an unlivable planet, because we would not move away from what we know is disastrous.”
To make matters worse, CP2 would be built on irreplaceable wetlands and marshes that protect the Louisiana coast from the hurricanes that are becoming more severe due to climate change.
Ozane continued: “Our wetlands are our natural storm surge protection. And here along the Gulf coast, we are prone to storms such as hurricanes. When those hurricanes come on shore, the wetlands break them up. But if we don’t have those wetlands and those dunes and those cheniers, those hurricanes are able to come further inland, destroying homes, destroying life, and destroying properties.”
These wetlands also sustain local fishermen and shelter wildlife and biodiversity such as the roseate spoonbill, river otters, manatees, alligators, and more. The shrimpers and fishermen who depend on this coast have already been a huge part of the opposition to this project, citing the threat it could bring to their food systems and way of life.
Destiny Watford, Climate Campaigner at Greenpeace USA said: “President Biden said that the threat of climate change is “scarier than nuclear war”. Expanding methane gas will only contribute more pollution to the environment and could threaten nearby communities–who are predominantly poor, Black, and Brown. By denying these permits, Biden has the opportunity to be a climate hero and be the first US president to take major steps to stop climate change.”
The U.S. is currently the leading exporter of methane gas and has been ramping up production aggressively over the last decade. Much of this infrastructure has been built in Gulf Coast frontline communities in Texas and Louisiana, bringing potentially harmful health impacts. In addition to its climate impact, each stage of the fossil fuel life cycle can generate local toxic air pollution. This pollution disproportionately harms Black, Brown, Indigenous, and poor communities living near fossil fuel infrastructure.
This past September, over half a million people took to the streets to demand world leaders, including President Biden, advance a just transition off fossil fuels and toward renewable energy. The march highlighted the urgency for climate relief amidst the devastating impacts of recent record-breaking heat, deadly floods, and increased extreme weather events.
Now is the time for President Biden to send a powerful message of progress and historic responsibility for climate change to the world, and deny export authority for CP2. We urge President Biden to affirm our nation’s commitment to responsible governance, standing firmly against the climate-polluting and unsustainable energy practices of the past.
Roisetta Ozane, Founder, Vessel Project of Louisiana said: “President Biden, you and your administration have the ultimate power to stop our communities from suffering. You declared yourself the climate president, and we want to see you fulfill the promises that you have made to our communities.”
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Contact: Katie Nelson, Greenpeace USA Senior Communications Specialist, [email protected], +1 (678) 644-1681
Greenpeace USA is part of a global network of independent campaigning organizations that use peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace USA is committed to transforming the country’s unjust social, environmental, and economic systems from the ground up to address the climate crisis, advance racial justice, and build an economy that puts people first. Learn more at www.greenpeace.org/usa.
