This bill amends the Natural Gas Act to clarify the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) responsibilities regarding natural gas projects. It mandates that FERC, when determining whether a proposed project serves the present or future public convenience and necessity, must evaluate its environmental effects. This evaluation specifically includes impacts on climate change and environmental justice communities. FERC must determine if significant environmental effects can be mitigated and if they outweigh the project's benefits, while also considering energy reliability and affordability.

To determine significant environmental effects, FERC must evaluate impacts on environmental justice communities based on all evidence, including existing and potential adverse environmental and public health stressors, and cumulative stressors. It also requires the quantification of reasonably foreseeable greenhouse gas emissions, encompassing upstream and downstream effects such as combustion and leakage, and their cumulative impacts. A proposed action with at least 100,000 metric tons per year of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions is presumed to have a significant effect on climate change. The bill emphasizes that no community should bear a disproportionate share of adverse environmental and public health consequences, and limiting future placement in environmental justice communities is in the public interest.

The legislation requires applicants to submit a mitigation proposal detailing how they will address environmental effects, including those on climate change and environmental justice communities. FERC must then attach conditions to certificates, where practicable, to mitigate these adverse effects. If FERC approves a project without fully mitigating significant environmental effects below the significance threshold, it must provide a detailed explanation. Ultimately, FERC must weigh all environmental effects against project benefits, providing a detailed explanation if a project is approved despite unmitigated significant environmental impacts.