Court orders FERC to reassess climate risks of Louisiana LNG export project, but authorization remains intact.

A federal court has sent energy regulators to reconsider the climate risks of a proposed liquefied natural gas export project in Louisiana. The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit stated that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) inadequately explained its failure to determine the environmental significance of the project’s greenhouse gas emissions and also failed to properly assess the project’s nitrogen dioxide emissions. However, the court did not dismiss FERC’s project authorization. Judge Brad Garcia suggested that it is likely the Commission can redress these defects in its emissions and cumulative effects analyses and still authorize the project.