Obama rejects Keystone XL

This post will be updated as more news and and perspectives are released.

From The New York Times:

WASHINGTON — President Obama is expected on Friday to announce he has rejected the request from a Canadian company to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline, ending a seven-years-long review that had become a flash point in the debate over his climate policies.

President Obama’s denial of the proposed 1,179-mile pipeline, which would have carried 800,000 barrels a day of carbon-heavy petroleum from the Canadian oil sands to the Gulf Coast, comes as he is seeking to build an ambitious legacy on climate change.

The expected decision comes ahead of a major United Nations summit meeting on climate change to be held in Paris in December, when Mr. Obama hopes to help broker a historic agreement committing the world’s nations to enacting new policies to counter global warming. While the rejection of the pipeline would be largely symbolic, Mr. Obama has sought to telegraph to other world leaders that the United States is serious about acting on climate change.

Press release from BOLD Nebraska.

Send a thank-you to the White House via BOLD Nebraska.

President Obama’s Statement.

Article from the Omaha World-Herald.

Article from the Lincoln Journal-Star.

Vox’s Brad Plumer on what this means going forward.

More next steps at 350.org

Watch a video thanks from the Natural Resources Defense Council.