For Immediate Release  

‍New Report from the Texas Southern University Robert D. Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice Details the Cumulative Impacts of LNG Buildout in Louisiana and Texas

“Liquefying the Gulf Coast” examines how liquefied natural gas production disproportionately harms low-income communities and communities of color.

Houston, May 7, 2024 - Today, the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice released a groundbreaking comprehensive report that examines the social, environmental, economic, and health impacts of liquefied natural gas (LNG) development in the Gulf Coast region.

 “‘Liquefying the Gulf Coast’ exposes the fact that rapid build out of LNG export terminals is reproducing the same historical pattern of facilities being sited in our most vulnerable communities and placing our most vulnerable populations at risk—while providing the lion’s share of economic benefits to more affluent populations and communities,” says Dr. Robert D. Bullard, one of the report co-authors and director of the Bullard Center at Texas Southern University. “It’s time to transition away from unjust siting and fossil fuel dependent economy to one that is clean, renewable, sustainable, fair, just and equitable for all.”

“Liquefying the Gulf Coast” explains how siting decisions for LNG export facilities in Louisiana and Texas are rooted in systemic racism and harm neighborhoods that are predominantly comprised of residents of color. These communities, overburdened for decades by pollution from petrochemical and oil and gas industries, suffer from much higher rates of asthma and adult cancer compared to the states in which they are located and the nation as a whole.

“Asa community leader, I stand against the Freeport LNG project, and I commend the Bullard Center’s rigorous cumulative impact study on LNG, which underscores the critical need to prioritize the health and well-being of our community over industrial expansion,” stated Gwendolyn Jones, a longtime Freeport resident who witnessed the Freeport LNG terminal explosion in June 2022.  

Included in the report is an analysis of how LNG development pollutes groundwater, destroys wetlands, degrades air quality, emits harmful carcinogens, harms wildlife, and threatens the Louisiana fishing industry, valued at $367 million in 2021.

“It's clear that an accurate assessment of LNG export facilities would find new LNG export terminals exacerbate harm to already overburdened communities in terms of air pollution, toxic emissions, and other risks," said Cathy Collentine, Director of the Sierra Club Beyond Fossil Fuels Campaign. “This report highlights just how necessary it was for the Biden Administration to pause approval of new LNG export licenses and how essential it is that every decision-maker account for the risks that existing and proposed LNG export facilities pose to communities, especially the low income communities of color where they are most frequently proposed to be sited.” 

The report also provides recommendations to government and regulatory agencies, including prioritizing community input, improving environmental justice analyses, completing a comprehensive climate assessment of LNG, updating safety standards, and continuing the Biden Administration's LNG Pause until Public Interest Determinations are made.

“LNG projects have significant implications for environmental justice, and for too long, FERC and DOE have failed to properly consider those impacts,” said Gillian Giannetti, senior attorney for climate and energy at NRDC (the Natural Resources Defense Council). “This study highlights these risks and demonstrates why the agencies must finalize an environmental justice policy statement soon.”

“Our report shows that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, while rubberstamping one LNG export facility after another, fails to adequately consider the numerous impacts of LNG development in their entirety—the cumulative impacts to fenceline communities and the climate,” says Dr. Robin Saha, lead report author and Associate Professor and Director of Environmental Studies at the University of Montana. “FERC fails to assess environmental justice concerns, massive climate impacts, and serious risks of catastrophic failure posed by LNG buildout. We call on the Biden administration to find—as we have—that LNG development is not in the public interest and continue the pause on new projects indefinitely.”

Liquefying the Gulf Coast can be downloaded on the Bullard Center’s website.

Contacts:

David Castillo
Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice
david.castillo@tsu.edu

Robin Saha
University of Montana
robin.saha@umontana.edu

Tiffany Langston
Climate Nexus
tlangston@climatenexus.org

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About the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice

The Robert D. Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University was launched in 2021 to address long standing issues of systemic inequality and structural racism that cause disproportionate pain, suffering and death in Black and other people of color communities. The Bullard Center works to promote environmental, climate, economic, energy, transportation, food and water and health justice. Texas Southern University is a student-centered comprehensive doctoral university committed to ensuring equality, offering innovative programs that are responsive to its urban setting, and transforming diverse students into lifelong learners, engaged citizens, and creative leaders in their local, national, and global communities.