The Biden administration is reportedly pushing back its planned decision on the Calcasieu Pass liquefied natural gas export terminal in Louisiana, delaying approval of what would be the nation’s largest LNG export hub in response to new concerns raised by environmental groups and some Democrats. 

The White House ordered the Department of Energy to expand its consideration of the planned LNG export facility in Louisiana to include its effects on climate change, as well as on the economy and national security, people familiar with the decision told the New York Times.

The Biden administration has come under mounting political pressure from Democrats in Congress to reconsider the criteria it uses to approve new LNG export terminals, which have taken on new urgency as U.S. LNG exports have ballooned in recent years.

In November, a group of 60 Senate Democrats led by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) asked the Energy Department to update its LNG approval process, citing concerns that the current method “does not fully or accurately consider how LNG exports negatively impact the climate, environmental justice communities, or increase domestic energy prices.” 

To date, the lawmakers noted, the Energy Department has never rejected an LNG export application based on climate concerns, arguing that its “case-by-case approach to approvals ignores the aggregate impact that the explosive growth in U.S. LNG exports is having on climate, communities, and our economy.”

The debate over LNG has taken new significance as U.S. exports of the cooled natural gas have exploded in recent years amid heightened demand and the start of operations at new facilities in the Gulf Coast.  

The United States exported a record 86 million tons of LNG last year, according to data from Kpler, driven by demand from Europe as it scrambled to find new suppliers following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

But that appears to be just the tip of the iceberg for U.S. LNG exports: The Energy Information Administration projected that North American LNG export capacity will more than double by 2027.

The U.S. has seven active LNG export terminals and is in the process of building five additional facilities with a baseload export capacity of more than 70 million tons per year. 

The Calcasieu Pass 2, or CP2, was on track to be the largest export terminal, with a capacity to export 20 million tons of natural gas per year. 

Industry groups and Republicans have argued this growth is needed for U.S. energy security and to help allies avoid an energy supply crisis.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said Wednesday that the administration’s decision to delay CP2 to consider climate concerns would “amount to a functional ban on new LNG export permits” in the U.S.

“The administration’s war on affordable domestic energy has been bad news for American workers and consumers alike,” he said during floor remarks.

Margie Alt, the director of the environmentalist group Climate Action Campaign, said the administration’s decision is “exactly the kind of leadership we need” from Biden.

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“Burning more extracted gas makes climate change worse and intensifies extreme weather disasters,” Alt said in a statement. “Standing up to big polluters and putting people before profits is what the president promised and what the president is delivering.” 

Neither the White House nor the Energy Department returned the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.