For Immediate Release: February 26, 2026
WASHINGTON – Today, the federal U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit heard oral argument from Friends of the Earth US (FOEUS) and Justiça Ambiental (JA, or Friends of the Earth Mozambique) asserting that a preliminary injunction is imperative to prevent irreparable harm resulting from the U.S. Export-Import Bank’s (EXIM) unlawful approval of nearly $5 billion in financing for the Mozambique LNG project.
The LNG project, which seeks to exploit and liquify natural gas reserves off the coast of Mozambique, has already displaced thousands of local people, will cause significant environmental harm, and plans to operate in the midst of an ongoing violent conflict and humanitarian crisis. It has been the site of allegations of grave human rights violations, which are the subject of pending government investigations in multiple countries. Since EXIM’s decision, a criminal complaint has been filed in France accusing french company TotalEnergies, the project operator, of complicity in war crimes at the project’s gate, and export credit agencies from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands have withdrawn their support for the project.
“One of the poorest countries in the world, repeatedly devastated by environmental disasters, is being treated as a golden goose by multinationals like TotalEnergies. With shameful disregard for human life, the company is reactivating and even celebrating its gas extraction project in an environmentally sensitive area of our country. This injustice is made possible by the irresponsible and unethical financing of financial institutions like EXIM that continue to place corporate profits above human lives, environmental protection, and climate justice,” said a spokesperson for JA.
The groups originally filed their lawsuit against EXIM in July 2025 in the federal district court for the District of Columbia. The lawsuit alleges that in March 2025, EXIM’s board announced final approval of the massive loan to TotalEnergies without conducting required environmental reviews, economic assessments, or allowing input by the public and Congress. The groups allege that EXIM violated its own charter and federal law, setting a dangerous precedent for future decisions implicating taxpayer funds. EarthRights International represents the groups in this matter.
“If EXIM is allowed to move forward, its financing will likely exacerbate the violence in the region and local communities will continue to suffer. At a time when the Trump Administration is cutting funds for health care and foreign aid, taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to subsidize foreign fossil fuel companies,” said Kate DeAngelis, Economic Policy Deputy Director for FOEUS.
In November 2025, FOEUS and JA filed an appeal in response to a lower court’s denial of their request to pause disbursement while the legality of the financing is litigated. The lower court held that although the groups had made a “strong showing” that the refusal to grant a preliminary injunction would cause “irreparable harm,” they were unlikely to succeed on their claims. In their appeal, FOEUS and JA challenged that decision and urged the D.C. Circuit to stop EXIM from disbursing funds to TotalEnergies until the case is decided.
“The lower court erred in holding that FOEUS and JA did not have standing, despite finding that they will likely be harmed if the loan proceeds. The lower court also erred on the merits, concluding that EXIM could disburse nearly $5 billion in funding without giving affected communities the opportunity to weigh in on the harms from the project, or considering the economic harm it will cause in the United States. The equities favor maintaining the status quo: temporarily preventing funding from leaving the United States,” said Richard Herz, Chief Litigation Attorney, EarthRights International.
Expert contact: Kate DeAngelis, kdeangelis@foe.org
