Oliver Milman
@olliemilman
Mon 23 Oct 2023 06.00 EDT
“Ferc may be an obscure federal agency to most people, but there are important decisions on the horizon at Ferc that will determine whether the world meets its climate goals,” he said. “With projects such as the Calcasieu Pass 2 LNG export terminal on the horizon, right now, the signs aren’t good.”
Local opponents of CP2 warn that it will worsen the impacts of Calcasieu Pass, an existing Venture Global gas plant in Cameron parish that sits next to the proposed new site. Calcasieu Pass, which became the seventh LNG exporter in the US when it began operations last year, faces the prospect of fines from Louisiana regulators after numerous air pollution violations.
The land itself could rebel against CP2’s presence. The low-lying Louisiana coastline is gradually subsiding while also being assailed by sea level rise, ironically caused by the climate crisis, meaning land is eroding at a rapid rate. Venture Global has said it plans a 30ft wall around CP2 to protect it from the advancing seas but some experts question the long-term viability of such a plan.
“It’s arguably in the worst possible location in the US,” said Torbjörn Törnqvist, a geologist at Tulane University. “The wall might protect this facility but everything surrounding it will be in shallow water.
“If the idea is that it is to be an isolated fortress surrounded by water, than that’s not a problem, but I imagine people will want to work there, get in and out. It’s not ideal.”
-
Tags
#Ohio