Virginia Metro board member Matt Letourneau’s conflict of interest

A coalition of environmental organizations argues that Metro board member Matt Letourneau is violating the agency's Code of Ethics due to his role as managing director at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Global Energy Institute and his receipt of campaign contributions from oil and gas interests. The petitioners claim Letourneau uses his position to advocate for compressed natural gas (CNG) buses and hydrogen fuel cells over battery electric buses, despite evidence that CNG and diesel buses have similar lifecycle carbon emissions and that electric buses are more reliable and cost-effective.

• Matt Letourneau's professional role and financial history create a conflict of interest with Metro's sustainability goals. He is the managing director of communications and media for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Energy Institute and has received nearly $20,000 in political campaign contributions from fossil fuel interests, including the owner of Holtzman Oil, the largest oil company in Virginia.
• The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Global Energy Institute actively promotes fossil fuels and opposes climate regulations. The institute advocates for increased oil and gas production on public land and claims that natural gas is a "solution" for global warming, despite methane being a potent greenhouse gas.
• Letourneau has advocated for the continued use of compressed natural gas (CNG) buses, claiming they offer a "significant improvement over diesel." However, the document cites a 2016 study showing CNG buses emit 71 percent more carbon monoxide and 2,320 percent more hydrocarbons than diesel buses, and Argonne National Laboratory data indicating they are responsible for nearly the same level of lifecycle carbon emissions as diesel buses.
• Letourneau has questioned the reliability of electric buses and suggested hydrogen fuel cells as an alternative. The document counters this by noting that the Alexandria DASH system found electric buses to be more reliable and cheaper to maintain than fossil fuel buses, and that most current hydrogen production relies on carbon-emitting processes involving natural gas or coal.
• The document argues that Letourneau's claim that electric buses are not beneficial if the electricity comes from natural gas is false. A 2018 Union of Concerned Scientists analysis found that in the Washington, D.C. area, electric buses would have 70 percent lower lifecycle GHG emissions than diesel buses and 65 percent lower than CNG buses.

APA

Earthjustice (2022). Virginia Metro board member Matt Letourneau’s conflict of interest. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/ml_conflict_of_interest_memo_final-6-15-22.pdf

Chicago

Earthjustice. Virginia Metro board member Matt Letourneau’s conflict of interest. 2022. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/ml_conflict_of_interest_memo_final-6-15-22.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Earthjustice |title=Virginia Metro board member Matt Letourneau’s conflict of interest |date=15 June 2022 |url=https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/ml_conflict_of_interest_memo_final-6-15-22.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{earthjustice2022virginia, author = {{Earthjustice}}, title = {{Virginia Metro board member Matt Letourneau’s conflict of interest}}, publisher = {Earthjustice}, year = {2022}, month = jun, url = {https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/ml_conflict_of_interest_memo_final-6-15-22.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }