U.S. Gulf South community leaders, in partnership with national organizations, have waged intense opposition to LNG development, stopping numerous projects and playing a critical role in former President Biden’s temporary pause on LNG export approvals last year. Despite Trump’s latest executive order lifting that pause, the future of U.S. LNG export expansion remains uncertain because of community opposition, legal challenges, and difficulties securing financing for the terminals and finding buyers for the gas itself.
Japan stands out as the leading financier of U.S. LNG export projects. These projects have caused massive harm to the health, livelihoods and well being of communities living along the Gulf Coast.
Community leaders from the U.S. Gulf South are traveling to Japan from January 27-31, 2025 to urge Japanese financiers to stop bankrolling LNG destruction.
Freeport explosion and harm to communities
The Freeport LNG project in Brazoria County, Texas is a clear example of how LNG developers all too often prioritize profits over the safety and well-being of local communities. In 2022, a major explosion sent a fireball 450 feet into the sky injuring those nearby and releasing almost 120,000 cubic feet of methane, carbon monoxide, benzene, and other highly dangerous chemicals. The project was offline for 8 months following the explosion, causing significant losses for companies contracting from the project, and has since struggled with operational problems.
Even before the explosion, the risk of cancer in Brazoria County was 22 times higher than EPA standards, given the long-term exposure to industrial pollution from petrochemical plants and refineries in the area.
Freeport residents face disproportionate rates of lung disease, preterm births, cardiovascular disease, and heightened stroke risk due to the cumulative impacts of these chemicals. The county’s air quality has consistently received an “F” grade from the American Lung Association.
The problems with the Freeport LNG project are not isolated. Exposure to harmful pollutants is a common occurrence for communities near LNG terminals. Just 200 miles away, the Cameron LNG terminal in Louisiana has experienced 67 toxic gas “spills” since its export operations began, an average of two per month, largely attributable to faulty equipment.
LNG’s toll on the Gulf’s fragile ecosystems
Pollution from LNG has turned the Gulf’s ecosystem upside down. For generations, Gulf families built their lives around fishing and shrimping. Now these waters are empty, robbing communities of both food and income. Before the Calcasieu Pass LNG terminal started operating last year, local fishermen caught about 700,000 pounds of shrimp annually. The shrimp catch is now down nearly 90%, according to a fisherman in the region, with no compensation for livelihoods.
According to research by the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, the Calcasieu Pass LNG export terminal violated its air pollution permits on 286 of the first 343 days it was in operation – 83% of its first year. Rather than working to clean up its operations, Venture Global, the gas company behind the LNG facility, petitioned the state air quality agency to increase its allowable pollution limits. The company received $184 million in tax exemptions for one year. Venture Global has plans to build the Plaquemines, Delta and Calcasieu Pass 2 LNG terminals.
33% worse than coal for our climate
LNG is dirty throughout the gas supply chain. LNG is mostly made of methane, which is 85 times more potent than carbon dioxide in the first 20 years after it is emitted. Research by Cornell University scientist Robert Howarth finds that exported LNG is at least 33% worse than coal for our climate.
Existing U.S. LNG capacity already exceeds what’s aligned with limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and averting the most catastrophic impacts of the climate crisis, according to the International Energy Agency. Financing LNG leads to more extraction in the oilfields and more pollution — at every stage of the process. Continued Japanese finance for U.S. LNG will worsen the climate crisis and slow the urgently needed transition to renewable energy.
Banking on the Gulf’s Destruction
Japanese private banks MUFG, Mizuho, and SMBC stand out as the top three financiers of LNG export projects in the U.S, providing over $34 billion in funding. Japanese banks account for nearly a quarter of total finance for U.S. LNG. These banks provided financing for existing US LNG export terminals, including Freeport, Cameron, Calcasieu Pass, Corpus Christi, Sabine Pass, Cove Point and Elba Island. The banks collectively have financed the following LNG export terminals and expansion projects under construction: Rio Grande, Plaquemines, Port Arthur and Corpus Christi (stage 3).
The top Japanese government financiers include the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI). JBIC and NEXI provided $3.7 billion in public financing for the Freeport LNG terminal in Texas. They invested $4.5 billion into the nearby Cameron LNG terminal in Louisiana. Japanese energy company, JERA, one of the world’s top LNG importers, has a 21.845% interest in the Freeport LNG Development company.
NEXI is currently considering financing expansion of the Cameron terminal. JERA, Japan’s largest gas company and one of the world’s largest LNG buyers, signed a 20 year contract to buy 1 million tonnes per year of LNG from Venture Global’s controversial planned Calcasieu Pass 2 export terminal. INPEX, Japan’s largest oil and gas producer, also signed a 20-year contract to buy 1 million tonnes per year from the project.
Japan’s efforts to drive global gas expansion
Japan’s financial reach when it comes to LNG stretches far beyond the U.S. Gulf South. Japan is the world’s largest provider of international public finance for LNG export capacity, accounting for roughly 50% of global public finance for LNG export terminals built from 2012 to 2022 and terminals currently under construction or set to be completed by 2026. Japan is also one of the world’s top public financiers for gas, spending an average of $4.3 billion per year.
What you can do
The Japanese government, corporations and banks must stop financing and supporting the development of new and planned expansion LNG projects in the U.S. Gulf South. A broad coalition of frontline communities, environmental, climate, health and advocacy organizations are mobilizing to stop all pending LNG exports and fossil fuel infrastructure. Financing U.S. LNG poses significant reputational and financial risks to Japanese institutions.