The head of the Environmental Protection Agency appeared to downplay the climate change impact of the contentious Keystone XL pipeline project, which has been a political sticking point for the Obama administration.
“No, I don’t think that any one issue is a disaster for the climate, nor do I think there is one solution for the climate change challenge that we have,” EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said Monday at a forum hosted by Politico. She was responding to a question on whether approval of the pipeline would spell disaster for the Earth’s climate.
McCarthy’s comment could indicate that the administration is softening its stance on the global emissions impact of the project. The comments come nearly a month after President Obama vetoed a bill to approve Keystone XL, a 1,700-mile pipeline that would deliver Canadian tar sands crude oil from Alberta to U.S. refineries along the Gulf of Mexico.
The project has been a source of criticism for the administration, which has been reviewing the project for more than six years. Pipeline advocates argue the pipeline would create thousands of jobs and improve energy security.
The EPA in February refuted the need for the project, given low oil prices, in comments issued to the State Department, which is finishing its review of the pipeline’s impact. But critics say the administration is slow walking the project.
McCarthy also appeared to downplay the significance of the comments, saying it was “simply the normal way in which EPA comments” that “take[s] a look at the analysis … to make sure that people are looking at the changes in oil prices and what that means.”
Many environmental groups are fervently opposed to the pipeline project and have been pressuring the White House not to approve it. They believe approving the project would backtrack from the president’ commitments to reduce carbon dioxide, which many scientists say is causing the Earth’s climate to warm.
