US Pressures EU to Roll Back Climate Rules as Trump Administration Greenlights Massive LNG Expansion

The United States has demanded that the European Union weaken or scrap key climate and human rights regulations to allow a surge in U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, even as the Trump administration approved a massive new gas export hub along the Gulf of Mexico. In a joint letter with Qatar, the U.S. warned that the EU’s new Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) poses an “existential threat” to European economies by restricting gas imports from major exporters. The directive—set for debate in the EU Parliament next week—requires companies supplying the bloc to demonstrate they respect human rights and are cutting greenhouse gas emissions, or face steep penalties. The letter urged the EU to “repeal or substantially scale back” the rules, arguing they would undermine energy security, investment, and jobs. It reflects the Trump administration’s broader effort to entrench fossil fuels globally while dismissing climate goals as economic risks. The move came as Trump’s Energy Department approved the $10 billion CP2 LNG terminal in Louisiana, operated by Venture Global. Once operational, the facility will export nearly 4 billion cubic feet of LNG per day and emit around 190 million tons of CO₂ annually — equivalent to 54 coal-fired power plants. “President Trump’s administration is redefining what it means to unleash American energy,” said Kyle Haustveit, Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy, calling the approval part of a record expansion in LNG exports. The EU recently agreed to buy $750 billion of U.S. oil and gas by 2028 as it pivots away from Russian supplies, though experts question the feasibility of such deals. Meanwhile, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has called net-zero policies a “colossal train wreck” and dismissed the Paris Agreement as “silly.” Environmental groups condemned the administration’s stance. The Sierra Club said LNG exports will worsen pollution, raise U.S. energy prices, and deepen climate damage. Communities along Louisiana’s Cameron Parish, already burdened by industrial pollution, warned that new LNG projects would intensify local health and environmental harms. “While everyday Americans suffer, the Trump administration’s solution is to push projects that enrich oil and gas executives,” said Mahyar Sorour of the Sierra Club.