Obama rejects Keystone pipeline
President Obama will reject the application to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada, according to a White House announcement on Friday
US President Barack Obama will reject the application to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada, according to a White House announcement on Friday.
The construction of the Keystone XL pipeline has been debated for seven years, and Obama has now confirmed that the pipeline would not serve the "national interests" of the US.
The pipeline would have run 1,179-miles (1,897km) from Alberta, Canada, to Steele City, Nebraska transporting 800,000 barrels of oil a day.
The White House announcement cited three main reasons for rejecting the application and said it would not have lowered petrol prices or created long-term jobs and would not have improved affected energy security either.
President Obama said: "The pipeline would not make a meaningful long-term contribution to our economy."
In February, Obama vetoed the bill for the pipeline to enable environmental reports to be conducted.
President Obama said he had discussed the issue with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and they have agreed to address climate change and collaborate on the environmental agenda in the build up to the major UN Climate Change Conference in Paris in December.