Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released the statement below today regarding President Obama’s decision to reject the proposed Keystone XL pipeline:
“The Keystone pipeline would have been a disaster for our environment and public health and would create only a few dozen permanent jobs. As the State Department’s Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the project made clear, at present and expected oil prices the additional carbon pollution from the pipeline would have been equivalent of putting nearly six million new cars on the road for 50 years. As our country begins implementing the Clean Power Plan and prepares for a positive outcome from the climate talks in Paris, this pipeline was simply inconsistent with our goal of reducing emissions and preventing the worst effects of climate change. I thank the President for rejecting the pipeline, and I also applaud the years of hard work by environmental advocates across the country who helped to educate the public about the importance of stopping this project.”
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