U.S., OTHER G7 LEADERS SHOULD SUPPORT JAPAN’S REALISTIC PLAN TO DECARBONIZE FOR FUTURE, WSTN SAYS
- Negotiations on G7 communique place European political concerns over global goals
- Excluding draft language about growing LNG demand will not wish demand away
DENVER – The Western States and Tribal Nations (WSTN) Natural Gas Initiative, a trans-national organization led by state and sovereign tribal governments to drive rural and tribal economic development and lower global emissions, today urged the United States and other Group of Seven Nations to support Japan’s decarbonization blueprint at the upcoming G7 climate ministerial meeting on April 15-16.
Recent media reports have stated that European G7 nations have rejected language relating to LNG in drafts of the communique that will be released at the end of the meeting.
“WSTN is concerned that European national politics are driving the G7 dialogue, in willful ignorance of the reality that U.S. LNG has kept their nations from using even more coal than they were forced to by the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” WSTN President Andrew Browning said. “Their arguments appear to rely on International Energy Agency data which works backwards from emissions reduction goals to provide a decarbonization map, an aspirational path totally divorced from the reality of actual commercial forecasts.”
“We urge the U.S. government not to stand silently in the G7 debate and make good on its commitment to support Japan’s energy and environmental ambitions. U.S. support for LNG can create space on the global stage for the important, realistic and visionary work Japan is doing to create a robustly decarbonized future. It aligns with the Biden Administration’s recognition of LNG as decarbonization tool in recent energy dialogues with the UK and Japan.”
“WSTN’s commitment is to swiftly reduce global emissions by exporting America’s emissions reduction success to our Asian allies by helping them replace higher-emitting power generation fuels with Rockies natural gas, produced with some of the lowest methane intensity in the world,” Browning said. “WSTN does this with the goal of creating a decarbonized future, and supports Japan’s blazing of an innovative, workable trail that puts every option – including restarting its shuttered nuclear plants to lower global LNG demand – on the table.”
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About Western States and Tribal Nations
Western States and Tribal Nations is a unique, trans-national initiative led by state, county and sovereign tribal nation governments, focused on creating rural economic development, advancing tribal self-determination and reducing global emissions by exporting western North American natural gas to international markets that need lower-emitting fuels.
Contact:
Bryson Hull
P: 202-657-2855 bhull@hbwresources.com