Critics welcome the announcement as a “victory” a few months after U.S. President Joe Biden revoked a permit for the pipeline.
The company behind a conflicting pipeline that has spread between Canada and the United States has officially abandoned the project, months after US President Joe Biden revoked his permission.
In a statement on Wednesday, TC Energy said it had completed the Keystone XL project “after a thorough review of its options” and in consultation with its partner, the government of Alberta, an oil-rich province in western Canada. .
“The company will continue to coordinate with regulators, stakeholders and indigenous groups to meet its environmental and regulatory commitments and ensure a safe completion and exit of the project,” TC Energy said.
Premier of the right of Alberta The government of Jason Kenney invested C $ 1.5 billion ($ 1.1 billion) in the Keystone project last year, saying the pipeline was needed to support the provincial economy.
But the project clashed years of firm opposition of environmental groups, landowners, and indigenous communities, both in Canada and the United States, who argued that it would threaten their lands and waters and worsen the climate crisis.
In January, just hours after being sworn in, Biden fulfilled a campaign promise and revoked the presidential permit for the project issued by former President Donald Trump.
The 1,947-kilometer (1,210-mile) Keystone XL pipeline would extend from the Canadian province of Alberta to the U.S. state of Nebraska and send 830,000 barrels of oil a day between the two countries.
“This is great news for the tribes that have fought to protect our people and our lands,” Rosebud Sioux Tribe President Rodney M Bordeaux said in a statement on the cancellation of the pipeline on Wednesday . “Treaties and laws guarantee us protections and we are committed to enforcing those laws.”
The Native Environmental Network, a U.S.-based Native American advocacy group, also welcomed the news. “After more than ten years, we have finally defeated an oil and gas giant! Keystone XL is DEAD! Let’s dance to the heart for this victory! ”The group tweeted.
“From bituminous sands to the gulf: we stood hand in hand to protect the next seven generations of life, water and our communities. This is not the end, but only the beginning of new victories. We know it in our hearts. “
After more than ten years, we have finally defeated an oil and gas giant. Keystone XL is DEAD!
Let’s dance to the heart for this victory! #NoKXL #NoTarSands https://t.co/q5lkfKatft
– Indigenous Environmental Network (@IENearth) June 9, 2021
“We hope the Biden administration continues to change this country in the right direction by opposing fossil fuel projects that threaten our climate, our waters and life-threatening life. Good delivery to Keystone XL!” dit Jared Margolis of the Center for Biological Diversity, another group based in the United States.
The government of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had compatible with Keystone XL, but Trudeau said in January that he accepted Biden ‘s decision to cancel the project.
Kenney, Alberta’s prime minister, said in a statement Wednesday that his government remained “disappointed and frustrated by the circumstances of the Keystone XL project, including the cancellation of the presidential permit for the pipeline border crossing.”
“That said, Alberta will continue to play an important role in a reliable and affordable American energy system. We will work with our American partners to ensure that we are able to meet American energy demands through the responsible development and transportation of our resources. ”
The statement says the Alberta government is expected to incur a total cost of C $ 1.3 billion ($ 1.07 billion) for the project.
