Biden angers fossil fuel proponents with 'devastating' move to halt natural gas projects

Fossil fuel proponents are sounding the alarm over the White House's decision to halt proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects, warning the move inflicts a damaging blow to the U.S. economy and national security.

The White House and the Department of Energy (DOE) jointly announced Friday that the pause would occur while federal officials conduct a rigorous environmental review assessing the projects' carbon emissions, which could take more than a year to complete.

"The decision by President Biden and those within his administration will have ripple effects on energy investments and throughout the entire American economy, impacting jobs, manufacturing, and industrial reshoring," Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) President Amy Andryszak told Fox News Digital following the announcement. 

"A key part of President Biden’s industrial policy included promises to create jobs and expand industrial manufacturing, and this decision will make that goal more difficult."

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In a Fox News Digital op-ed published Wednesday, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who led the DOE under President Trump, argued pausing LNG export projects will "devastate" the industry and "thousands of Americans employed by the sector."

"Unfortunately, the Biden administration refuses to acknowledge the importance of strong domestic energy production to U.S. national security and is playing into our adversaries' hands by prioritizing appeasement of environmentalist groups — even those backed by China — over the long-term strength and security of our nation," Perry wrote.

"It's imperative to reverse these actions and return to the path of energy independence. Our focus must shift towards domestic oil and gas production, characterized by the world's strictest environmental standards, to bolster energy security, support the American workforce, and stimulate economic growth."

Perry previously said on "Mornings With Maria" that the pause was "wrong in so many different ways," and makes him question who's "really running the White House today." 

In a statement Friday, the president said the pause on LNG permitting was a part of his sweeping climate agenda, saying the action "sees the climate crisis for what it is: the existential threat of our time." 

Prior to the announcement, Andryszak defended the natural gas industry as "absolutely essential" to lowering emissions, arguing it should be "part of any clean energy future solution."

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"There have been 582 million metric tons of CO2 reductions since 2005, and that was directly attributed to more natural gas being used for electric generation," she told Fox News Digital in December, citing a recent U.S. Energy Information Administration report. "I don't think that the Biden administration is giving our industry enough credit for that."

"It's an on-demand energy source. And if you are building out a system that's heavily reliant on renewables, those are intermittent energy sources. Sometimes the wind doesn't blow, the sun doesn't shine, and you're going to need backup for that. And that's what both coal and natural gas have provided. And you need to continue to have [it] as backup as more renewable sources come on the electric grid," she continued.

Fox News' Thomas Catenacci contributed to this report.