Compiled by Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED)
The U.S. State Department has released its final environmental review acknowledging for the first time Keystone XL could accelerate climate change, adding the equivalent of 5.7 million new cars to the road. Some unions in the U.S. are strongly in favor of the pipeline, with the Laborer’s International Union of North America (LiUNA) the most vocal. LiUNA’s president Terry O’Sullivan’s statement on the State Department report is below. O’Sullivan said, “There is no environmental justification to block the construction or operation of the pipeline…it is time to harness the energy that a trusted neighbor can provide and lessen our dependence on oil from unfriendly and often tyrannical regimes.” The Building and Construction Trades also stated that the debate on Keystone XL was now closed, and that the latest State Department report meant there were “no more excuses” and the project should now go ahead.