The Keystone XL pipeline is officially dead
09 June 2021
The developer of the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline abandoned the project Wednesday after a decade-plus effort.
Why it matters: TC Energy's decision ends one of the century's highest profile battles over climate change and energy. But the move is unsurprising.
- President Biden canceled a cross-border permit in January, prompting TC Energy to suspend construction on the project that would bring hundreds of thousands of barrels per day from Alberta, Canada, to U.S. markets.
- In addition to strong public and legal opposition from activists, market forces including the U.S. domestic production boom helped sap the project's momentum.
What they're saying: "This project is finally being abandoned thanks to more than a decade of resistance from Indigenous communities, landowners, farmers, ranchers, and climate activists along its route and around the world," said David Turnbull of Oil Change International in a statement.
Yes, butvia Reuters: Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said: “We remain disappointed and frustrated with the circumstances surrounding the Keystone XL project, including the cancellation of the presidential permit for the pipeline’s border crossing,”
- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also supported the project.
Catch up quick: TC Energy, then called TransCanada, first proposed the 1,200 mile pipeline well over a decade ago, but resistance mounted throughout the Obama administration.
- President Obama rejected it in late 2015, claiming approval would undercut U.S. leadership on climate change (among other reasons).
The decision came despite a State Department finding that approving or denying the project would not have a major effect on emissions because it was unlikely to affect the rate of oil sands extraction.
President Trump revived the project in 2017, but it still faced legal battles.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.