While all eyes have been on Europe for how their energy crisis will play out, the reality is many American consumers face similar reliability issue …

Over the past two months, the Biden administration has called on domestic natural gas companies to ramp-up production to assist our allies in Europe through increased exports of liquefied natural gas, or LNG. But missing from the conversation is approving infrastructure that will safely transport that additional supply from where it is produced to export facilities. Put simply, we must expand our natural gas transmission system to accommodate increased production. This increase in infrastructure capacity will require an honest evaluation of the permitting challenges currently plaguing natural gas infrastructure development in our nation.

While he was on the campaign trail, INGAA was encouraged by then-candidate Biden’s remarks about the strategic importance of natural gas. We believed President Biden understood that natural gas and its related infrastructure could help his administration achieve its climate goals by reducing CO2 emissions and enabling the greater adoption of renewable energy sources, all while providing a reliable and affordable choice to meet our country’s expanding energy needs.

Unfortunately, decisions and rhetoric from federal agencies over the last 16 months tell the story of an administration that does not appear to value natural gas. Their actions have indicated that the administration is seeking to use regulatory and permitting mechanisms to transition our domestic energy portfolio away from natural gas, instead of capitalizing on the natural resources available here at home that are necessary to meeting our nation’s climate goals and assisting our allies overseas.

Consider the following.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s track record is just one of many proof points of the already difficult and lengthy process to build infrastructure in this country. From June 2021 until March 2022, FERC did not approve any major natural gas projects. Since then, FERC has approved six, but there are still 8 major natural gas projects pending approval before the commission with the combined potential to provide more than 11.3 million cubic feet of natural gas per day in additional capacity. Without this additional transportation capacity, some of the additional gas supply policymakers are calling on developers to produce may not reach American consumers or LNG terminals.

In addition to this project backlog, FERC recently introduced updates to its 1999 certificate policy statements that will make it more difficult to build the required infrastructure to get additional production to market. These revisions marked a striking departure from the Commission’s historical, congressionally authorized role as a fundamentally economic regulator, and instead charted a new path as a de facto climate regulator for the entire natural-gas sector — from the wellhead where it’s produced to the burner tip, manufacturing facility or export terminal for end use.

This is the type of regulatory action that has the potential to severely disrupt the permitting process and prevent the development of much-needed, job-creating infrastructure. FERC has an opportunity to revise these draft proposals to meet the policy objectives outlined by the Biden administration, which calls for added production of domestic natural gas resources.

In addition to what’s happening at FERC, we are also seeing aggressive regulatory activity from the Army Corps of Engineers, Council for Environmental Quality, Environmental Protection Agency and Securities and Exchange Commission that all have the potential to further impede the permitting process. These policy changes will also have a dramatic — and negative — impact on the investments necessary to build additional energy infrastructure in our country.

In short, the Biden administration’s words and their policy actions are telling two different stories. While the President has recently shifted his narrative to support American natural gas, his administration continues to introduce and implement policy that impacts our industry through added delays and costs. Though his messaging may be encouraging, the actions tell a different story. Rhetoric must match reality.

INGAA strongly encourages the Biden administration to signal to markets and their own federal agencies that they value the strategic importance of natural gas in helping achieve our nation’s security goals, and also our climate goals. Now is not the time to be throwing up additional regulatory roadblocks. Rather, permitting agencies like FERC need to take action today by moving pending projects forward. By doing so, we can ensure the reliable transport of natural gas necessary to meet our country’s energy and climate goals both at home and abroad.

Blessed with ample reserves of natural gas and with an experienced commitment to responsible operations, America’s natural gas transmission industry has the means and the desire to alleviate supply constraints and high energy prices by connecting producers to consumers. But recently, several planned investments to create new natural gas pipelines and related infrastructure, have been shelved or put on hold in the face of legal and regulatory challenges.

In September, PennEast Pipeline Co. announced it was cancelling its pipeline, designed to transport natural gas from the Marcellus/Utica shale in Pennsylvania to households and businesses in New Jersey, due to New Jersey denying necessary permits. The Northeast Supply Enhancement project, which could transport enough gas for 2 million homes in three states per day, has been delayed due to state regulatory complications. Work on the Mountain Valley Pipeline is currently more than 90% complete, but the project has faced years of delay due to opposition challenges and litigation related to previously approved and acquired permits.

Canceled and delayed pipeline projects are driving higher energy costs for Americans and killing thousands of good-paying union jobs in the construction sector. The Laborers’ International Union of North America is one of the nation’s largest construction unions, representing over half a million members, with energy — predominantly natural gas pipeline infrastructure — constituting a main sector of our work. Over the last decade, the natural gas industry has provided tens of millions of work hours for LIUNA members, creating good construction jobs with family supporting wages and benefits.

Thousands of LIUNA members spend their entire construction careers within the pipeline sector, developing the expertise and experience to ensure these projects are built with the highest safety standards and quality. The delays and cancellations like those mentioned lead to chaos and economic uncertainty for construction workers and their families.

Despite regulators’ resistance to building new infrastructure, demand on our existing systems continues to increase as families, businesses and power generators continue to enjoy the benefits of our country’s natural gas resources. U.S. natural gas consumption has increased by 25% over the last decade and is forecast to continue rising.

Natural gas also comes with clear environmental benefits and supports the energy transition. As the cleanest-burning fossil fuel, natural gas is the most inexpensive, flexible, reliable option to offset renewables’ characteristic intermittency. The successful pairing of these fuels has made the U.S. into a global leader on climate.

The U.S. has reduced CO2 emissions more than any other country since 2000, with the transition to a mixture of natural gas and renewable energy leading to a 33% reduction in CO2 emissions from 2005 to 2019, even with electricity generation increasing. And there’s still potential for more environmental gains. For example, natural gas infrastructure companies are researching how to safely blend renewable hydrogen produced by wind or solar power into natural gas pipelines, which would further cut emissions while also bolstering renewable energy capacity.

As we’re seeing play out in real time, exporting U.S. natural gas abroad can enable our allies and trading partners to realize the same climate and economic progress as the U.S. Our ability to deploy new fuels to support a clean energy future around the globe is reliant upon our ability to make further investments in natural gas transmission and storage infrastructure here at home.

Fostering natural gas infrastructure investments now — through sound policies and predictable regulations that protect both the environment and energy reliability — is critical given the expected increasing demand for natural gas. Interstate Natural Gas Association of America member companies are ready to make the necessary investments, and LIUNA members stand ready to work. We’re asking policymakers in New England and across the country to work with us to achieve those goals.

We see this dynamic playing out in real time in the natural gas sector, especially as it relates to methane emissions. Methane is natural gas. It heats homes, powers 40 percent of our electrical grid and is a foundational element to our manufacturing economy. Yet, if emitted into the atmosphere unabated, it contributes to global climate change, something we are committed to addressing through our work.

Unfortunately, proposed legislation seeks to impose a new tax on natural gas, instead of implementing policies that would promote emissions reductions.

Each of our organizations are working to further reduce the environmental footprint of the natural gas industry. The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, representing the majority of interstate natural gas transmission pipeline operators in the United States, and Project Canary, a first mover and leader in ESG (environment, sustainability and governance) data analysis, precise monitoring and independent gas certification, approach emissions reduction from different perspectives but share in the same goal: further reduce methane emissions.

Natural gas and renewable energy are complementary resources, and they should remain critical partners in building our clean energy future. Research from the National Bureau of Economic Research, for example, found a correlation between the growth of natural gas for power generation and the increased deployment of renewable power. Lower natural gas prices help make power more affordable and reliable for consumers, and partnering with renewable energy lowers emissions and reduces the overall costs of electric power even further.

The cleaner and cheaper mix of natural gas and renewables is why the United States today is a climate leader. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the transition to natural gas and renewables delivered a 33 percent reduction in CO2 emissions from electricity generation between 2005 and 2019, even while total U.S. electric generation increased. In fact, since 2000, no country in the world has reduced its CO2 emissions more than the United States.

This is important and measurable progress that we should build on as we continue to develop innovative technologies and policies that support further emissions reductions. But to do so, we need to strengthen our nation’s energy network by building a grid that is even cleaner, more resilient, and more affordable for consumers.

This was made apparent after the brutal February storms that caused widespread power outages in Texas. Despite some of the voices on social media who have tried to create a bogeyman, the solution is not a false choice between natural gas or renewables. Experts have concluded that we should make additional infrastructure investments, and lawmakers are currently considering additional grid improvements to address constraints identified in February. We should expand our power grid to bring cleaner, cheaper power to market so homes and businesses can keep the lights on — and expand pipeline capacity to help ensure ample natural gas supplies for both power generation and home heating, while also reducing the need for practices like flaring.

And despite what happened in February, Texas remains the example of how to do this. As we all know, the Lone Star State has abundant energy resources, and it encourages responsible production. Texas is the number one producer of both natural gas and wind-generated energy, accounting for 25 percent of U.S. natural gas production and 28 percent of all U.S. wind-powered electricity in 2019. If Texas were its own country, it would rank as the fifth largest wind-producer in the world. On top of that, it is the second largest solar market in the U.S. and is expected to surpass California for the lead by 2025.

This complementary mix of natural gas and renewables has delivered environmental and economic benefits. Over the last 30 years, per capita energy-related CO2 emissions in Texas declined by 28 percent, and Texas electricity prices are nearly 20 percent lower than the national average.

However, without a robust pipeline and transmission system, these benefits would never be realized. This is why Texas has nearly 470,000 miles of pipelines and the Competitive Renewable Energy Zone (CREZ) power lines, which have allowed the state’s abundant natural gas and renewable resources in places like West Texas and the Panhandle to be delivered to homes and businesses in the urban areas. CREZ saves consumers more than $1 billion on their power bills every year. Infrastructure makes markets and ensures reliability.

In Texas and across the country, we should invest in what works. The increasingly cleaner and affordable mix of natural gas and renewables has given the United States a leadership role in addressing climate change. By continuing to work together while expanding our energy infrastructure, we can solidify that position for decades to come.

To address these challenges, natural gas will continue to serve as a catalyst to help our nation and the global community reach its climate goals. Over the past 15 years, the transition to generate more electricity with natural gas has eliminated more greenhouse gas emissions than any other fuel source. In order for this progress to continue, the natural gas industry must collaborate closely with policymakers, researchers, and other stakeholders to define a clear path forward.