A federal appeals court on Thursday struggled to navigate an environmental group’s quest to block the Trump administration’s $4.7 billion loan for a liquefied natural gas project in Mozambique.
It was not clear from arguments how the panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will land on the issue. The judges spent over an hour pressing Friends of the Earth on whether it even has standing to bring most of its claims while also questioning the Export-Import Bank’s process in extending the loan to TotalEnergies.
The fight over the loan comes as the Trump administration seeks to boost fossil fuel production, albeit primarily domestically.
Background: The Export-Import Bank first approved the LNG loan to Total in 2019. Before the company began drawing down the funds, the project was put on hold in 2021 as insurgent attacks from militant group al-Shabab targeted a nearby town. The ensuing conflict with Mozambican forces led to human rights abuses and allegations of war crimes, as POLITICO reported in November.
