Hillary Clinton finally took a stand on the Keystone XL pipeline after months of avoiding a clear position, bluntly stating, “I oppose it.”
The Democratic front-runner was speaking at a forum about lowering the costs of pharmaceuticals in Iowa on Tuesday afternoon when a young woman in the audience asked Clinton if she could finally give her Keystone opinion. Clinton had previously said she wanted the Obama administration to make its decision first.
“I thought this would be decided now,” Clinton replied. “It’s a distraction from the important work we have to do to combat climate change. And one from my perspective that gets in the way of all our other issues, therefore I oppose it. I oppose it because I don’t think it’s in the best interest of those of us who want to combat climate change.”
While serving as secretary of state, Clinton said she was put in a “unique” position at the start of the Keystone process, as she did not want to interfere with her successor John Kerry’s decision-making process. This past Sunday marked the seven-year anniversary of the first application for the pipeline that would extend from Canada down into the Southern United States. While advocates argued that the pipeline would spur economic growth, environmentalists countered that it would hurt the environment
Clinton said the United States must move from fossil fuels to clean energy and that the pipeline does not aid such progress.
The League of Conservation Voters Action Fund released a statement that they were “thrilled” by Clinton’s leadership on environment issues, adding “this is exactly the kind of leadership we need in order to leave a healthy planet for our children and grandchildren.”
The American Petroleum Institute, on the other hand, was displeased. “Instead of embracing our neighbor to the north, this administration continues to snub Canada and turns a deaf ear to our other allies who have appealed to the U.S. to move more oil onto the global markets,” API President Jack Gerard said in a statement. How can the administration advocate a deal that would help Iranian oil producers but not do the same for U.S. and Canadian producers? This is not how you harness America’s economic and diplomatic potential.”
