energy transitions, where natural gas will be required to make a more flexible contribution . (8) Australia and the United States are both important global energy exporters and thus have a shared interest in supplying the growing energy demand in the Indo-Pacific region. (9) Japanese companies have long invested in United States liquefied natural gas projects and the Government of Japan has shifted from relying on liquefied natural gas from the Middle East to liquefied natural gas from the United States. (10) The People’s Republic of China currently is one of the largest financiers of overseas energy- and greenhouse gas-intensive projects and the expanding number of infrastructure projects in the Indo-Pacific region, carried out under the People’s Republic of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, is leading to higher emissions, coercive dependence, and environmental degradation in the region. (11) European Union demand for liquefied natural gas is expected to rise from about 72,000,000 tons per year in 2021, to more than 110,000,000 tons per year until at least 2030. (12) United States-produced oil and natural gas has one of the lowest lifecycle emissions profiles in the world. A 2019 analysis by the Department of Energy found that natural gas pipelined from the Russian Federation to Europe’s electricity sector has 41 percent higher lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions than United States liquefied natural gas shipped to Europe. The World Bank estimates that the flaring intensity of United States oil and gas production in 2021 was 69 percent lower than in the Russian Federation. (13) Between 2009 and 2019, use of United States natural gas as a feedstock for hydrogen production increased from 143,004,000 cubic feet to 199,050,000 cubic feet, or a 39.2 percent increase. According to the Department of Energy, 95 percent of the hydrogen produced in the United States is made by natural gas reforming in large central plants. That is an important technology pathway for near-term hydrogen production and reducing global