Icon: enlarge
A section of the Keystone Pipeline in the US state of Nebraska
Photo: LANE HICKENBOTTOM / Reuters
According to Canadian media reports, future US President Joe Biden plans to withdraw the approval for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline between the US and Canada.
As the TV stations CBC and CTV reported, citing internal papers, Biden wants to stop the project after his inauguration on Wednesday.
Keystone XL was one of President Donald Trump's favorite projects.
The equivalent of almost seven billion euros, the pipeline was supposed to transport around 500,000 barrels of oil a day from tar sand deposits in Alberta, Canada, to refineries in the US state of Texas.
President Trump had given the green light for the construction of the Keystone XL in spring 2017.
The start of construction for the 1,450-kilometer section on US territory was scheduled for the coming year.
Obama had stopped expanding Keystone XL after environmental concerns
Trump's predecessor Barack Obama had previously decided in November 2015 after more than seven years of examination that the project would not serve the national interest of the USA due to risks to the environment.
The technically very complex production of oil from the sandy tar soils creates huge lakes with polluted water.
In addition, according to environmentalists, the bitumen contained in this type of oil has a corrosive effect on the oil pipes, which increases the risk of leaks.
Climate activists also complain that too many greenhouse gases are released in the complicated process of extracting oil from tar sand.
Alberta Prime Minister Jason Kenney told Twitter that he was "deeply concerned" about the reports.
"Should the future US government revoke the Keystone XL approval, Alberta will use all legal options together with TC Energy to protect its interests in the project," announced Kenney.
Icon: The mirror
mrc / dpa / Reuters
