Global LNG boom 'threatens climate goals': Banks urged to end financing

By A Representative

The world is on the brink of an unprecedented surge in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) development, with 279 new projects planned globally, threatening to derail international climate goals and causing severe local impacts. This stark warning comes from a coalition of organizations—including Reclaim Finance, Rainforest Action Network, BankTrack, and others—that today launched the "Exit LNG" website, a new mapping project exposing the extent of the expansion, the companies involved, and their bank financiers.

The planned LNG expansion is estimated to generate over 10 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions by 2030, a volume comparable to the annual emissions of the United States and the European Union combined. The report highlights that the projects are driving gas expansion and new gas field development, which will destroy any hope of achieving the global target of limiting average temperature rise to 1.5^\circ centigrade, while also endangering the health, wellbeing, and biodiversity of local communities.

The new online map pinpoints the United States as the dominant driver of the boom in exports, accounting for 40% of the increase in planned export capacities with 38 projects, followed by Russia (20%, 18 projects) and Qatar (8%, 3 projects). On the import side, the Asia Pacific region leads, with China planning the most facilities (34% of the increase in planned import capacities, 49 projects), followed by India (8%, 11 projects) and Vietnam (7%, 14 projects). The surge in final investment decisions for new export terminals in 2025 adds to this expected wave of gas supply, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Justine Duclos-Gonda, Oil & Gas Campaigner at Reclaim Finance, stated that this worldwide rush is "steering us towards disaster" and criticized banks for "pouring billions into LNG expansion, regardless of the social and climate costs."

Major developers include state-owned QatarEnergy and US-based Venture Global, whose planned export terminal projects are projected to result in over 1.2\text{ Gt} of CO2e emissions by 2030. The French major TotalEnergies ranks fifth, with its projects estimated to result in over 300 million tonnes of CO2e by 2030.

Despite the environmental and social risks, global banks funneled US$174 billion into LNG expansion between 2021 and 2024. Three-quarters of this support came from institutions in just five countries: the United States, Japan, China, Canada, and France. Three banks—Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), Mizuho Financial Group, and JPMorgan Chase—each contributed over US$10 billion. European banks, including Santander, ING, Société Générale, Crédit Agricole, and Groupe BPCE, are also named as major financiers. The organizations are now urgently calling on banks to adopt comprehensive policies to end all financial services for new LNG projects and the companies developing them.

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