German banks and major companies have been bankrolling the development of liquefied natural gas projects in the US over the past decade with over €4 billion ($4.4 billion) in financing, a new report has shown.

The report, by German non-governmental organisations Deutsche Umwelthilfe and Urgewald, runs contrary to impressions that past reliance on cheap Russian gas created a built-in resistance to investing in LNG infrastructure.

It shows that significant investments actually preceded the breakdown of relations with Moscow and the outbreak of the Ukraine war.