FOE Statement on Keystone XL pipeline cancellation
WASHINGTON, D.C.– President Joe Biden announced today that he will cancel the permit for the $9 billion Keystone XL pipeline project. This second cancellation follows years of grassroots pressure to reject the pipeline from a broad coalition that includes climate, property rights, environmental justice and indigenous community activists.
Marcie Keever, Friends of the Earth’s Legal Director, issued the following statement in response:
The cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline is a defeat for Big Oil and a huge win for the health and safety of Americans and our planet. This victory belongs to the indigenous communities, Nebraskan farmers and Texan ranchers, and the organizations and activists who fight in the courts and the streets for a safe, climate justice-fueled future.
President Biden must not stop here. Ending Line 3, the Dakota Access pipeline, and opposing Canada’s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion plans should be his next priority. President Biden should also ensure that the dozens of Water Protectors facing jail time for standing against Keystone XL under the Trump administration, are released from all charges.
Allowing any expansion of the destructive tar sands oil industry is not and will never be in our nation’s interest. We will remain vigilant to ensure that all of Big Oil’s attempts to wring profits out of dirty tar sands are defeated, and that better, clean alternatives are deployed.
Communications Contact: Aisha Dukule, (202) 893-3502, [email protected]
Expert Contact: Marcie Keever, (415) 999-3992, [email protected]