Cheniere turns to Obama official in clean gas push

Bloomberg

Cheniere Energy Inc., looking to help global customers meet climate goals under the Paris Accord, is turning to a former Obama administration energy expert as it expands its liquified
natural gas exports.
Christopher Smith, who helped develop the US Energy Department’s so-called life cycle emissions analysis for natural gas and coal, has joined Cheniere’s Washington office. The analysis was set up to assess the overall greenhouse gas impacts of a fuel, including during its production and use.
In his first public interview in his new role, the West Point graduate said he supports methane regulations to make gas use a cleaner option. Smith’s hiring by Cheniere, on track to become a top five global LNG supplier, comes as customers in Europe and Asia are shifting toward lower carbon sources, including use of natural gas to help integrate more renewables, Smith said.
“Every one of our customers resides in a country that’s part of the Paris climate accord,” he said in a telephone interview from Houston. “We have to think about what the drivers are for our customers,
and that’s the bottom line for our growth opportunities.”
Smith steps into his new role at a time when the Trump Administration has disavowed the Paris Agreement. Still, much of the world has signed on to it, and accessing global markets is increasingly important for the US’s long sheltered gas market. Switching from coal to gas supply is a leading reason the US has been able to cut emissi-
ons from power plants and slash electricity costs. Other countries
are looking to do the same.