Study: KXL Would Have Much Larger Impact Than State Dept Suggests

"WASHINGTON -- The State Department's final environmental impact analysis for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline downplays the significance the pipeline would have for development of the Canadian tar sands, according to a new analysis from a United Kingdom-based group. The analysis also argues that the State Department underestimated the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that would come with that development."

"The Carbon Tracker Initiative, a nonprofit that focuses on how carbon budgets interact with financial markets, released the new report on Monday, making its case for why Keystone XL is more important in the context of global emissions than the State Department's study indicates.

The State Department released the final environmental impact statement, or FEIS, on Jan. 31. That analysis concluded that approval or denial of any specific project to transport oil, including Keystone XL, 'remains unlikely to significantly impact the rate of extraction in the oil sands, or the continued demand for heavy crude oil at refineries in the United States.'"

Kate Sheppard reports for the Huffington Post March 3, 2014.

SEE ALSO:

"Bummer for Anti-Keystoners: Report Finds No Conflict of Interest, Despite Obvious Conflicts of Interest" (Grist)

"The Top 3 Flaws With the State Dept.’s Keystone Study" (Grist)

"Keystone Contractor’S Ties To Energy Groups Draw New Scrutiny" (Politico)

"State Department Inspector General Investigating Keystone XL Contractor ERM's Conflicts of Interest" (DeSmogBlog)

"‘State Department’ Keystone XL Report Actually Written By TransCanada Contractor" (Grist)

"New Documents Raise Questions About Keystone Environmental Study" "BuzzFeed"

"Did Keystone XL Contractor Hide Its Conflict of Interest?" (Mother Jones)

"Keystone XL Contractor's Potential Conflicts Of Interest Not Mentioned In State Department Documents" (Huffington Post)

"Conflict of interest: State Department contractor on Keystone XL study lied about ties to TransCanada & oil industry" (Friends of the Earth Release)