In a speech Tuesday at Georgetown University, President Obama will announce that the controversial, long-in-the-works the Keystone XL oil pipeline project can be approved if further study by the State Department shows it will not result in a net increase in greenhouse gas emissions. A study of the project by the State Department last March indicated that it would not lead to a net increase in emissions.
The president is scheduled to speak at 2 p.m.
According to a Huffington Post story on the planned speech, a White House source said:
The mention of “net increase” is key. In a March study, the State Department found that there would not be a net increase in those emissions. As ABC News reported at the time:
The executive summary of the March study can be found here. The report also found the project would create 42,100 jobs, although most of them would be temporary. The report was preliminary. The State Department is expected to do further study on the issue.
It is not clear whether Obama will base the decision on just whether the project itself increases emissions or whether he will take broader view of whether emissions will increase regardless of what the approves. The White House appears to be trying to finesse the issue by emphasizing a cautious approach but still appears to be edging towards approval of the project. It is nevertheless under tremendous pressure from the environmentalist left to reject the pipeline.
