Keystone XL: Trump re-opens door to climate-killing tar sands

Friends of the Earth U.S. criticised Trump’s decision today authorising the Keystone XL pipeline. The Keystone XL pipeline is designed to bring climate-killing Canadian tar sands to refineries on the US Gulf Coast and onwards to Europe.

Erich Pica, president of Friends of the Earth US said: “For almost a decade, Americans have fought to stop the dirty Keystone XL pipeline from polluting their air and water.”

“Today, Donald Trump has betrayed the American people. This is another step in his unprecedented attack on public health and the environment. Today’s decision will galvanize Americans, and further stiffen resistance to Trump’s campaign to sacrifice our planet for Big Oil profits. The fight over Keystone XL is not over.”

In 2014 the revised Fuel Quality Directive failed to ensure that companies were discouraged from importing tar sands, one of the dirtiest fossil fuels on the plant.

Colin Roche, extractives campaigner with Friends of the Earth Europe said: “Trump has reopened the door to large scale imports of climate-killing tar sands to Europe. The fight against Keystone XL is not over, and there will be massive resistance in the US, but Europe should step up to the plate and ban tar sands immediately.”