Update to the environmental analysis of the export of liquified natural gas

Earthjustice and the Centro Mexicano de Derecho Ambiental (CEMDA) argue that the U.S. Department of Energy's updated environmental analysis for LNG exports must account for the higher methane emission rates and weaker regulatory enforcement in Mexico compared to the U.S. The authors highlight that 8.55 Bcf/d of planned export capacity through Mexico could significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions and disproportionately harm marginalized and Indigenous communities in Mexican states such as Sonora, Sinaloa, and Baja California.

• There is 8.55 Bcf/d of planned LNG export capacity through Mexico, which would represent approximately a 75% increase in current U.S. LNG export capacity.
• Methane emission rates from Mexico's oil and gas industry are higher than those in the U.S., with a satellite-based study showing Mexican rates around 4.7% compared to U.S. rates of about 2.95%.
• Specific Mexican gas processing facilities have shown methane emissions approximately 30 times higher than comparable U.S. plants and 200 times higher than company-reported figures, with lower flare combustion efficiencies (94% vs 98% in the U.S.).
• Mexico suffers from significant underreporting of methane emissions and a lack of regulatory enforcement; for instance, only 13 out of 359 companies covered by regulations have submitted required annual methane emission reports.
• LNG projects in Mexico are located in areas already burdened by industrial pollution, such as Puerto Libertad, Sonora, and Altamira, Tamaulipas, which host some of Mexico's ten dirtiest power plants.
• LNG development in Mexico faces social conflict and security risks, particularly in Sinaloa and Sonora, where environmental defenders are targeted; CEMDA documented 197 attacks on defenders in 2022 and 123 in 2023.

APA

Earthjustice (2024). Update to the environmental analysis of the export of liquified natural gas. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/doe_lng_mexico_ej_cemda.pdf

Chicago

Earthjustice. Update to the environmental analysis of the export of liquified natural gas. 2024. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/doe_lng_mexico_ej_cemda.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Earthjustice |title=Update to the environmental analysis of the export of liquified natural gas |date=5 June 2024 |url=https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/doe_lng_mexico_ej_cemda.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{earthjustice2024update, author = {{Earthjustice}}, title = {{Update to the environmental analysis of the export of liquified natural gas}}, publisher = {Earthjustice}, year = {2024}, month = jun, url = {https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/doe_lng_mexico_ej_cemda.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }