01:16USA: Obama announces cancellation of Keystone XL oil pipeline
"The State Department has decided that the Keystone XL pipeline would not serve the national interests of the United States, I agree with that decision," announced US President Barack Obama during a presidential address in Washington D.C., Friday. His decision marks the end of a seven-year review by the State Department which had become a flash point over Obama's climate and energy policies.
Flanked by Vice-President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry, Obama explained his decision, stating that "the pipeline would not make a meaningful long-term contribution to our economy."
The proposed pipeline would have been 1,179 miles (1,897.4 kilometres) long, with the capacity to transport 800,000 barrels of crude oil, from the Canadian oil sands to the Gulf Coast, in one day.
Obama's decision comes ahead of December's crucial United Nations summit on climate change, to be held in Paris. The pipeline's rejection is one of several actions by the president on climate change. In August he announced a set of fresh regulations to cut carbon emissions from America's power plants.
01:16"The State Department has decided that the Keystone XL pipeline would not serve the national interests of the United States, I agree with that decision," announced US President Barack Obama during a presidential address in Washington D.C., Friday. His decision marks the end of a seven-year review by the State Department which had become a flash point over Obama's climate and energy policies.
Flanked by Vice-President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry, Obama explained his decision, stating that "the pipeline would not make a meaningful long-term contribution to our economy."
The proposed pipeline would have been 1,179 miles (1,897.4 kilometres) long, with the capacity to transport 800,000 barrels of crude oil, from the Canadian oil sands to the Gulf Coast, in one day.
Obama's decision comes ahead of December's crucial United Nations summit on climate change, to be held in Paris. The pipeline's rejection is one of several actions by the president on climate change. In August he announced a set of fresh regulations to cut carbon emissions from America's power plants.