Climate Action Network Canada responds impending Keystone rejection

In response to the apparent forthcoming announcement by President Obama to reject the Keystone XL pipeline today, Hannah McKinnon, Campaign Director of Climate Action Network Canada has responded as follows:

“If President Obama does indeed deliver a ‘No’ verdict on the Keystone XL, we will know that at least one North American leader seems to be putting people before polluters. With the rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline, President Obama will have made it clear that tar sands oil will not flow freely or easily into the United States. Now the President must prove the United States is ready to set a new precedent when it comes to their energy choices, one which will challenge them to look beyond the ticking carbon bomb to their north towards safer and more sustainable energy choices.

Tar sands are wreaking havoc on Canadian forests and water, the lives and livelihoods of impacted communities, as well as our shared climate and future. It is in no country’s national interest to increase their dependency on the dirty energy of our past. There is no safe route for this pipeline. It will do irreversible damage at every stage, in particular, unleashing billions of tonnes of greenhouse gas pollution into the atmosphere that we share.

As the Canadian Government ramps up a vicious (and heavily ridiculed) campaign against anyone concerned about the consequences of tar sands expansion and the Enbridge pipeline, this sends a clear message that Canadians are not alone in their desire to see Canada change the channel on dirty oil. We share this planet, this atmosphere and this climate and more and more the Harper Government stands alone in their desperate attempts to peddle a dangerous future to the world.”

For further comment:

Hannah McKinnon
hmckinnon@climateactionnetwork.ca
613.276.7791

Climate Action Network Canada is a network of over 80 leading civil society organizations including labour, faith, youth, development, environmental, health, legal, and First Nations in Canada who want to see stronger action on climate change.