The Obama administration has rejected Calgary-based energy giant TransCanada’s application to build the Keystone XL pipeline.
The Associated Press reports that this is according to three sources familiar with the decision who aren’t authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The decision caps a seven-year saga that became one of the biggest environmental flashpoints of Barack Obama’s presidency.
Killing the pipeline, which as proposed would ship oil from Alberta to Texas, allows Obama to claim aggressive action on the environment. That could strengthen his hand as world leaders prepare to finalize major global climate pact next month that Obama hopes will be a crowning jewel for his legacy.
Yet it also puts the president in a direct confrontation with Republicans and energy advocates that will almost surely spill over into the 2016 presidential election.
The decision also comes days after Justin Trudeau was sworn in as the prime minister, and after TransCanada had asked the U.S. State Department to suspend its application for the pipeline.
(The Associated Press)