WASHINGTON, DC – League of Conservation Voters President Gene Karpinski released this statement on the release of the State Department’s final environmental impact statement on the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline:

“This is just another step in a long process. The bottom line is still the same — this pipeline clearly flunks the President’s carbon pollution test and must be rejected. With the FEIS out, it’s Secretary Kerry’s obligation to truly engage in the next step in the process. As a lifelong champion for fighting climate change, we’re confident that he’ll find that the carbon pollution resulting from Keystone XL would be devastating and that this pipeline is not in our national interest.

As extreme weather events and pipeline and rail incidents become more common, it’s all the more urgent that we end our reliance on dirty and dangerous fossil fuels. President Obama and Secretary Kerry face a choice between locking us into an unsafe future with more dirty and dangerous fuels or moving toward a clean energy economy that will help combat the climate crisis.”

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