TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline defeated as Obama hands greens huge enviro victory

US President Barack Obama has rejected Canadian energy infrastructure operator TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline, ending a drawn out and highly politicised battle to build an $8-billion conduit that would have transported Canadian bitumen to large refining markets in the American Midwest and along the US Gulf Coast. Speaking from the White House and flanked by Vice-President Joe Biden and State Secretary John Kerry, Obama said the pipeline “would not serve the national interests of the US. America is now a global leader when it comes to taking serious action to fight climate change. And frankly, approving this project would have undercut that global leadership. And that’s the biggest risk we face – not acting,” he said.