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The battle to stop the Keystone XL pipeline (KXL) from being built is currently at a fever pitch. This pipeline would carry the world's dirtiest oil — tar sands — down from Canada, through America's heartland, eventually making its way to oil refineries on the Gulf of Mexico. There has been considerable controversy and opposing arguments for and against the KXL pipeline project. At Greenpeace, we want to expose the truth and connect our supporters to meaningful actions that make a difference. That's why we're asking you to sign our petition urging financial institutions, like JPMorgan Chase, to stop all funding to tar sand pipelines like KXL.
Here are four important facts about the KXL pipeline:
Fact #1: The KXL tar sands pipeline would cause significant damage to the climate. Four years ago, the world's most prominent climate scientist, Professor James Hansen, stated, "Oil from tar sands makes sense only for a small number of people who are making a lot of money from that product, it doesn't make sense for the rest of the people on the planet. We are getting close to the dangerous level of carbon in the atmosphere and if we add on to that unconventional fossil fuels, which have a tremendous amount of carbon, then the climate problem becomes unsolvable."1
Fact #2: There will be spills. Most of the KXL pipeline will be underground, where oil can seep into surrounding soils and potentially groundwater. According to recent Greenpeace study, "The U.S. crude oil pipeline system as a whole has averaged one significant incident and a total of ~570 barrels released per year per 1,000 miles of pipe, over the past 10 years. Assuming these rates, the Keystone XL pipeline could expect 59 significant spills over a 50-year lifetime."2
Fact #3: Trump's promise of significant long-term jobs for KXL is a false promise. Far from the tens of thousands of jobs Donald Trump promises, Keystone XL would produce about 3,900 year-long jobs during its construction phase, according to the U.S. State Department. After that, the entire 1,000+ mile pipeline would require about 35 full time workers to operate. Given that jobs are the primary reason the administration gives for permitting the $7 billion pipeline, that does not sound like a very good deal, particularly when you compare that with the costs of the damage it will do to communities, the climate, and precious water resources if there is a spill.3
Fact #4: It's not too late to stop the construction of the KXL pipeline. Some people have scoffed at the idea that a coalition of local landowners, Indigenous leaders, First Nations, pipeline resistors, grassroots and national groups, and climate activists could actually have an impact on the funding plans of major financial institutions. And yet, it's happening. Last month, Dutch bank ING announced it will not finance oil pipeline projects from the Canadian tar sands, including the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Expansion, Keystone XL, Energy East, and Line 3 Expansion pipelines. The decision came in response to a letter sent by 20 Indigenous and environmental groups (including Greenpeace) asking the bank to refrain from financing Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain Expansion pipeline. The letter highlighted the proposed pipeline's detrimental impact on the climate and its violations of Indigenous rights.4
We stand with science, and the truth. Tell JPMorgan Chase we will hold it accountable and demand that it cut ties to the tar sands oil pipelines that only Trump and his fossil fuel backers want.
Thank you for standing with us,
Diana Best
Senior Climate and Energy Campaigner, Greenpeace USA
P.S. Tell JPMorgan Chase: STOP funding tar sands pipelines now, before it's too late.
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/may/19/tar-sands-exploitation-climate-scientist
[2] http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/research/four-proposed-tar-sands-oil-pipelines-pose-a-threat-to-water-resources/
[3] https://keystonepipeline-xl.state.gov/documents/organization/221186.pdf
[4] https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/06/08/environmental-and-indigenous-groups-demand-banks-avoid-supporting-trans-mountain-expansion.html
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