Environment News: Joe Biden Would Rescind Keystone XL Pipeline Permit If He Wins Election

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden would rescind the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline if elected to the White House. President Trump had issued a permit for the pipeline’s construction just weeks into his term.

“Biden strongly opposed the Keystone pipeline in the last administration, stood alongside President Obama and Secretary Kerry to reject it in 2015, and will proudly stand in the Roosevelt Room again as President and stop it for good by rescinding the Keystone XL pipeline permit,” Biden campaign policy director Stef Feldman said in a statement Monday. "Stopping Keystone was the right decision then and it’s still the right decision now.”

A federal judge in Montana stopped construction of the pipeline earlier this month, due to concerns about its impact on wildlife. The Trump administration has appealed the ruling.

The 1,900-kilometer line between the Canadian province of Alberta and Nebraska would help facilitate the transportation of 830,000 barrels of crude oil between Canada and the U.S., and is being built by TC Energy Corporation. Trump has touted the pipeline, saying it would create 28,000 construction jobs.

A State Department report on the pipeline during the Obama administration said the pipeline would only add 3,900 direct construction jobs if built over one year, with only 35 permanent jobs needed to run the pipeline once it is opened — among the key reasons why Obama had rejected the pipeline in 2015.

Biden is expected to continue many of the environmental policies of the Obama administration. Biden would like to steer the U.S. away from fossil fuels and achieve a 100% clean energy economy by 2050.