The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will not block a nearly $5 billion loan from the Trump administration to finance a liquefied natural gas project in Mozambique.
U.S. and African environmental groups had sought to undo the U.S. Export-Import Bank loan that dates back to President Donald Trump’s first term and was revived last year, part of the administration’s efforts to boost fossil fuels both at home and abroad.
The $4.7 billion loan — the biggest in the agency’s history — went to a TotalEnergies project to tap an estimated 65 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Cabo Delgado province that was first approved in 2019. But two years later, before any of the funds were drawn down, the project was delayed due to attacks from a group called Al-Shabab. (POLITICO previously reported on allegations of war crimes in the ensuing conflict.)
Ex-Im last year extended the loan’s terms as Total planned to resume construction.
