The developer of the Keystone XL pipeline announced Wednesday it is pulling the plug on the controversial project after the Biden administration revoked its permit in January.
TC Energy, the Canadian company behind the project, said it decided to terminate the project after a comprehensive review of its options and consulting with the government of Alberta, Canada. The company said it would coordinate with regulators, stakeholders and Indigenous groups to ensure a safe exit from the project.
The cancellation ends more than a decade of controversy over the pipeline and marks a big win for environmentalists who argued the project threatened the environment and would only worsen the climate crisis.
The project aimed to carry oil from the tar sands of Canada into the United States, and it has been a political football for years.
On his first day in the White House, President Joe Biden revoked the permit his predecessor granted to Keystone XL, and also moved to re-enter the United States in the Paris climate agreement. TC Energy warned at the time that the decision by Biden would "directly lead to the layoff of thousands of union workers."
The end of Keystone XL will add to the pressure on Biden from environmentalists to terminate other projects, including Line 3 and the Dakota Access pipeline."
The cancellation of Keystone XL is a reminder that this project was never needed and never in the public interest, and that it is time for the fossil fuel era to rapidly come to a close," David Turnbull, strategic communications director with Oil Change International, said in a statement.
The American Petroleum Institute, the oil and gas industry's largest trade group, expressed disappointment over the news.
"It's unfortunate that political obstructionism led to the termination of the Keystone XL Pipeline," said Robin Rorick, vice president of midstream and industry operations at the API.
"This is a blow to U.S. energy security and a blow to the thousands of good-paying union jobs this project would have supported."
Marty Durbin, president of the Chamber of Commerce's Global Energy Institute, said the decision to terminate the project was understandable given the administration's decision, but that ultimately "the American people will lose the most by not having access to affordable and reliable energy that would have been safely and efficiently transported by the pipeline."
Environmental groups, however, cheered the news."The termination of this zombie pipeline sets precedent for President Biden and polluters to stop Line 3, Dakota Access, and all fossil fuel projects," Kendall Mackey, campaign manager of 350.org's Keep It in the Ground campaign, said in a statement.
Latest Stories
-
Abdul-Rasheed Saminu sets new National Record in the men’s 100m, books qualification for Tokyo World Championships
1 hour -
Supreme Court allows Trump to revoke legal status for 500,000 migrants
2 hours -
Eugene Boadi: Bryan Acheampong’s impact on entertainment sector
2 hours -
Faizan Zaki, 13, crowned US National Spelling Bee champion
2 hours -
US to double tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to 50%, Trump says
2 hours -
Wontumi denied access to family – lawyer confirms amidst detention
2 hours -
Meet the Brazilian sensation Fonseca hoping to shock Draper
3 hours -
Women ‘worthy’ of French Open night sessions
3 hours -
Alcaraz made to suffer in four-set win over Dzumhur
3 hours -
Minority Caucus probe into TV doctor Ann Sansa Daly’s credentials
3 hours -
In Oval Office farewell, Trump says Elon Musk is ‘not really leaving’
3 hours -
Suspect in South African student’s murder killed in police shootout
4 hours -
Ghana hits milestone in local vaccine production – National Vaccine Institute CEO
4 hours -
I’m grateful to Bryan Acheampong, he filed docs exceeding GH₵50m bail – Wontumi’s Lawyer
4 hours -
Wontumi files motion to review his bail conditions
4 hours