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Environmental Groups Challenge State Dept. on Keystone Review

HeadlineApr 17, 2013

A coalition of environmental groups is accusing the State Department of critical errors in a review that concluded the Keystone XL pipeline does not threaten the global climate. Released last month, the long-awaited assessment said tar sands oil would increase emissions between 5 to 19 percent, not the far greater numbers critics have alleged. The State Department review marked a major boost to the Keystone XL pipeline’s chances as President Obama mulls whether to approve or reject it. But in a new report, Oil Change International, Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, 350.org and Friends of the Earth say the State Department review takes for granted the oil industry’s argument that increased future oil production is inevitable. The report, called “Cooking the Books,” concludes: “In a world constrained by the realities of climate change, the proper measure of any project’s climate impact should not be based on the assumptions inherent in a business as usual scenario that guarantees climate disaster. … There is a climate impact from burning 830,000 barrels per day of any crude that cannot be ignored.”

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