Today, Earthjustice and the Centro Mexicano de Derecho Ambiental (CEMDA) urged the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to include an examination of the distinct harms associated with exporting U.S. methane gas through Mexico in its forthcoming updating of its environmental analysis on the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

“Fossil fuel companies are scrambling to export a huge volume of U.S. gas through Mexico’s northwest coast — nearly a 75% increase in current export capacity. As DOE analyzes the impacts of LNG exports on the public interest, it must consider the similar and sometimes greater harms to environmental justice and climate when exporting U.S. gas through Mexico. Many of the proposed liquefaction plants that will transform U.S. gas into LNG for export will directly impact low-income and marginalized communities in Mexico that are already burdened with industrial pollution and an increasingly hostile climate toward environmental defenders. We’re encouraged that DOE is taking steps to update its science, and we urge the agency not to ignore the significant harms to communities in Mexico,” said Jacob Kopas, senior attorney at Earthjustice.