A prominent Gen Z climate activist, who has nearly 700,000 followers on TikTok, said he met with White House officials before President Biden’s decision to major pause on liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects.
“I started advocating for stopping new LNG export terminals last year after learning about the level of pollution this type of fuel adds to the atmosphere,” Alex Haraus told Fox News Digital.
Haraus, including the TikTok climate change videos regularly rack up thousands and sometimes millions of views, said new research indicates LNG may have a dirtier carbon footprint than coal when burned and that the United States already exports “enough” of it to its allies, adding that it “does not make sense to poison more.” people with the pollution they emit just so a few companies can profit. »
In November, Haraus began regularly posting videos about the danger of the federal government authorizing more LNG export terminals, projects designed to exploit U.S. fossil fuel reserves to help U.S. allies in Europe and in Asia to wean itself off Russian energy. Supporters of such projects have argued that they would benefit the U.S. economy, allies’ energy security and reduce emissions.
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Climate activist and TikTok star Alex Haraus has repeatedly posted videos on TikTok warning against federal approvals for new natural gas export projects. (Alex Haraus/TikTok/Video screenshot)
But in videos often filmed from Louisiana, where LNG export terminals are being built, Haraus said the projects would lead to an increase in emissions and therefore worsen global warming. On November 27, he released a video that garnered more than 137,000 views in which he declared that greater LNG export capacity means “humanity will burn more, faster because of the United States, unless we don’t build the terminals.”
Then, after he began posting the videos, Haraus said he met with White House climate advisers alongside Gulf Coast environmental activists also opposed to the projects. And on January 26, the White House and Department of Energy (DOE) announced it had suspended permitting of all pending LNG export terminals due to climate impacts, appearing to cave in to campaigners’ demands.
Alex Haraus, left, said he met with White House officials before President Biden’s decision to pause major LNG export projects. (Alex Haraus/TikTok | Getty Images)
“I was with activists from the Gulf Coast who have been fighting this for years,” Haraus told Fox News Digital when asked about the White House meetings. “The policy demonstrates that they were somewhat receptive.”
“Any administration that makes tangible, measurable decisions to phase out dependence on fossil fuels will enjoy greater support from young people,” he added. “The White House could always go further.”
President Biden has ordered a halt to ongoing natural gas export projects. This action was welcomed by environmentalists opposed to the development of fossil fuels. (Getty Images)
Haraus declined to give further details about the meeting, saying people were concerned about his conversations with the White House but not the “numerous meetings the fossil fuel lobby has had with the White House nor the millions of dollars the fossil fuel lobby has spent to skew policy in their favor.”
Shortly after the White House’s announcement, Haraus released a video in which he applauded the decision and called on activists to rejoice.
“We can change the world when we work together,” he said. “If you didn’t think about it before, you better think about it now.”
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In addition to the meeting Haraus said he had with officials about LNG export policy, visitor logs reviewed by Fox News Digital show he was given a one-on-one meeting. head with President Biden. The clean energy czar, John Podesta, in July. Haraus’ TikTok timeline shows he was in Washington, D.C., at the time, advocating against the felling of old-growth trees in federal forests.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Haraus also met with President Biden’s clean energy czar, John Podesta, in a one-on-one meeting in July. (Getty Images)
Following the joint White House and DOE announcement last month announcing a moratorium on permitting the LNG export terminal, Republicans, Democrats and energy industry groups criticized the Biden administration for giving Russia a victory.
In a letter to Biden on Monday, more than 150 House Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., argued that suspending LNG export growth risks causing an increase in oil prices. energy in the United States, which would lead to higher energy prices in the United States. global greenhouse gas emissions and harms the American economy.
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The letter referenced studies showing that LNG exports could add up to $73 billion to the U.S. economy by 2040, create more than 453,000 American jobs and increase American purchasing power by $30 billion. of dollars.
According to federal data updated last month, 11 projects received the green light from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) but are not yet under construction. Four other projects are pending before FERC and two are in the pre-filing phase. These six projects would not be affected by the pause since they are not yet before the DOE, but they would be if approved by FERC.
