President rejects Keystone XL pipeline

WASHINGTON, D.C. — After seven years of intense public campaigning on the Keystone XL, a pipeline that would have bisected the United States carrying the world’s dirtiest oil, President Obama has denied Canadian oil company TransCanada a presidential permit for construction. The president cited the pipeline’s projected contribution to climate change in deeming it not in the national interest.

Friends of the Earth President Erich Pica issued the following statement:

This is an extraordinary moment for grassroots activism and the fight against fossil fuels. This is an extraordinary moment for grassroots activism and the fight against fossil fuels. For seven years, people from around the United States campaigned together to transform a previously routine decision to approve a pipeline into a leadership test on climate change. With this decision, President Obama has taken leadership in significantly slowing the expansion of the tar sands industry. We have not only succeeded in stopping the Keystone XL pipeline, we’ve awakened a grassroots climate movement. The battle to move beyond fossil fuels continues, and Friends of the Earth thanks President Obama for taking a strong step in the right direction.

For a timeline of Keystone XL developments, click here.

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Expert contact: Ben Schreiber, (202) 222-0752, [email protected]
Communications contact: Kate Colwell, (202) 222-0744, [email protected]