Climate Groups Urge Biden to Block G7 Push for LNG Expansion

Japan, the world’s largest funder of LNG infrastructure with nearly $40 billion spent between 2012 and 2022, is promoting a 'Green Transformation' agenda. While the policy claims to foster sustainability, critics argue it relies heavily on fossil fuel extraction, including coal plant co-firing and carbon capture technologies. Friends of the Earth and other groups contend that this strategy risks locking the world into decades of avoidable pollution and creates a market glut by 2025.

The Shift from Fossil Finance

Despite a 2022 G7 commitment to end direct public support for the international unabated fossil fuel sector, the bloc funneled at least $73 billion into fossil fuel projects between 2020 and 2022, while clean energy received only $28.6 billion. Advocacy groups are now calling on the Biden administration to use its diplomatic influence to prevent any G7 endorsement of new LNG contracts or expedited terminal permitting. Meanwhile, activists outside the World Bank headquarters in Washington, D.C., staged protests against the institution’s continued fossil fuel financing, which reached at least $930 million in 2022.