Why LNG, aka fossil gas, is a false climate solution funded by big banks

While the majority of us struggle to make ends meet in a world overwhelmed by surging climate catastrophes, polluting industries and bought-and-paid-for politicians are peddling liquified “natural” gas—also known as LNG, fossil gas, or methane gas—as a climate and economic solution. Let’s be clear: LNG is a poison pill peddled as a solution.

The Truth about LNG

Methane, the primary component of LNG, is the second-largest contributor to climate warming after carbon dioxide, and 80 times more potent over a 20-year span, responsible for one third of global heating. The liquefaction process is itself incredibly energy-intensive, often using fossil fuels to power supercooling gas into liquid form to be exported on tankers where it’s re-gasified and burned.

It’s not a cheaper form of energy, either. U.S. LNG exports are linked to increased residential gas prices that families simply can’t afford—yet the Trump regime is pushing for more gas exports to Europe, which would worsen the squeeze. At the same time, climate change is causing more extreme cold, leading to even more demand for natural gas for heating and driving up prices further. Geopolitical instability also subjects LNG prices to volatility, such as when the price of gas skyrocketed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

LNG is a false climate solution with dire consequences, and its peddlers are pushing to develop more toxic projects even as we careen towards projections of dire climate catastrophe. The climate fight is not over, though, and all hope is not lost—that’s why we’re rising up to stop new fossil gas projects, and build healthy, sustainable communities instead.

Fossil Gas Poisons Communities

Methane gas isn’t only bad for our climate, it is deadly for communities living on the fencelines of polluting facilities. At every stage, methane gas produces and leaks toxic gases linked to respiratory illnesses, strokes, heart disease, and cancer. If all planned LNG export terminals and expansion projects in the U.S. were built, they would cause an estimated 149 premature deaths each year.

The gas buildout would worsen environmental racism. Polluting fossil fuel facilities are more frequently sited in communities of color—a reality that stems back to redlining in the 1930s by the U.S. government. This practice coded neighborhoods of color as riskier lending zones, deepening existing racial segregation and discriminatory policies, and paving the way for modern economic, and environmental health disparities. When it comes to LNG export terminals specifically, Black Americans are projected to experience up to 70% more air pollution from proposed terminals than white Americans. 

Fossil gas is incompatible with Indigenous rights and sovereignty. Wherever LNG projects are proposed, Indigenous communities face violations of their right to free, prior, and informed consent, loss of land, cultural erasure, and disproportionate health and climate harms. From the Wet’suwet’en to the Sámi, to communities in the Rio Grande Valley and in the Amazon, Indigenous Peoples are asserting their rights and offering visions of a just energy future.

Contrary to the industry’s lies, LNG terminals create very few long term jobs and are often owned by global fossil fuel giants whose executives export the profits along with the gas, leaving communities behind with polluted air and water.

Make no mistake: Black and Indigenous communities aren’t passive victims of these extractive schemes—they are leading resistance, protecting their lands, and offering pathways for sustainable futures. Our fight against LNG—and for a just, sustainable future—is led by the community members living at the frontlines of the fossil fuel industry’s destruction.

Funded by Big Banks

The gas industry can’t build toxic new facilities without billions of dollars in financing. Banks collectively provided 213 billion USD to new and expanded methane gas production from 2021 to 2023, according to research from Reclaim Finance. Here’s how it breaks down across countries:

• U.S. banks are at the top of the list: just six U.S. banks—JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo—are responsible for nearly one-fifth of global LNG financing. 
• Japanese banks follow, providing $30 billion in LNG funding from 2021 to 2023. Mitsubishi (MUFG), Mizuho, and SMBC rank among the top five banks globally financing LNG expansion. 
• Canadian banks including Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), Scotiabank, and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) are not far behind, providing $16 billion to methane expansion in the same period.

• European banks such as Santander, ING, Crédit Agricole, Deutsche Bank, and HSBC all break into the top 30 of LNG financiers. Meanwhile, banks from France, Spain, the UK, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Switzerland collectively contributed 27% of total financing.

Major banks fund LNG in two main ways: providing loans directly to fossil fuel companies and also help them sell bonds to investors (i.e. underwriting). 

What are bonds?

Over half of fossil fuel financing comes from bond issuances – so this is a crucial funding tap to big polluters. Here’s how it works: 

1. Fossil fuel companies issue bonds, like IOUs, to investors, with the help of banks (underwriters)
2. Investors lend money to the issuing company for a set period of time, over which the issuer makes regular interest payments. 
3. At the end of that period (often several years), the bond “matures” and the issuer repays the full value of the bond to the bondholder.

In order to sell bonds, fossil fuel companies need banks to play several important roles:

1. Banks arrange the bond deals, helping them access investors and raise money;
2. Banks advise the companies issuing the bonds, and collect fees for their services;

Banks provide credibility to bond sellers, enabling them to borrow large amounts of money at cheaper rates than loans.

Resistance Across Turtle Island

From the Pacific coast of so-called Canada to the Gulf of Mexico’s shorelines, communities are organizing to resist the racist pollution and destruction proposed by the fossil fuel industry for their doorsteps.

We Need Clean Air, Not Another Billionaire

If we want affordable, reliable energy that protects our health and communities, we need renewables—not LNG. Solar and wind create good, local jobs, cut energy bills, and clean up our air and water. Communities have realized how cost-saving and energy-efficient renewables are compared to fossil fuels—they are resisting the propaganda and supporting clean energy projects. LNG, on the other hand, locks us into expensive, unstable markets and leaves us with pollution and broken promises.

Fossil fuels are not inevitable—especially if we rise up to resist them. Even amid fascist regimes in the U.S. and elsewhere, the clean energy transition is not stopping, and other nations are stepping up to accelerate climate action. The future is still ours to build, and it’s powered by clean energy, not corporate greed. It’s time to fund the future instead of the polluting past.