The Biden administration intends to announce its strategy on Friday for beefing up environmental scrutiny of applications to export natural gas, according to people familiar with the matter.

President Joe Biden will order the Energy Department to halt reviews of applications to ship natural gas abroad, allowing time for officials to better factor in the long-term climate impacts of expanded LNG exports, according to the people who asked not to be named because the plan isn’t public. The pause is set to at least temporarily stall projects in development, including Commonwealth LNG, Energy Transfer LP and Venture Global LNG Inc. facilities planned in Louisiana.

Spokespeople for the Energy Department and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

At issue is whether additional exports are in the public interest, a threshold under federal law. An Energy Department review and rulemaking could set new requirements for determining what constitutes the public interest, giving great weight to the potential climate consequences of additional exports.

The effort responds to concerns from climate activists who say additional approvals will only prolong the world’s reliance on natural gas and discourage investments in cleaner, emission-free alternatives. The issue has taken on higher prominence after nearly 200 nations agreed last month that the world must transition away from fossil fuels — and ahead of November US elections in which climate is a key issue. Activists have planned a Feb. 6-8 sit-in at the Energy Department to demand it halt new LNG approvals. 

The US is already the world’s largest LNG exporter — and the planned halt isn’t likely to change that. The multibillion-dollar facilities to liquefy natural gas for export around the globe take years to build, and developers must clear multiple federal government reviews to start shipping. The US has issued dozens of LNG export licenses, but the pause is set to apply only to applications now awaiting review at the Energy Department.

Natural gas advocates argue the delay will chill development, limit potential future shipments to European allies and undercut at least some short-term environmental gains tied to displacing coal. “Any action to halt US LNG export approvals would be a major mistake that puts American jobs and allies at risk while undermining global climate goals,” nearly three dozen oil and gas groups said in a letter Wednesday to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

Environmentalists argue that far from simply displacing dirtier-burning coal as a power source, US LNG is crowding out potential investments in clean energy alternatives. And, they say, concerns about Europe’s need for US LNG are overrated, with its gas demand projected to fall.