Obama tries to extort climate concessions from Canada for Keystone

Bloomberg/Fuel Fix:

U.S. climate negotiators have told their Canadian counterparts that Canada’s plan to cut carbon emissions could be one of the factors that President Barack Obama weighs as he considers whether to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, a U.S. official said.

The U.S. hasn’t suggested it might approve the $8 billion proposed project in exchange for climate commitments, the official said. Canada is developing a proposal as part of United Nations-sponsored talks aimed at cutting carbon emissions that governments were encouraged to submit by next month.

Obama has secured climate concessions from China and India as part of those UN talks. A similar deal with Canada could help offset the anticipated environmental damage from the TransCanada Corp. pipeline, responding to project opponents.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday that Obama could approve the oil pipeline even though he vetoed a Republican bill that would have circumvented the review process that’s been underway for six years. The administration didn’t comment Wednesday on the discussions with Canada.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper offered in 2013 to cut greenhouse-gas emissions to win approval of the Canada-to-U.S. pipeline, according to a person familiar with the matter. In December, Harper said it would be “crazy” for his government to unilaterally introduce rules to cut greenhouse-gas emissions from the oil and gas industry as oil prices fall.

Gary Doer, Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., said Canada is open to a joint deal with the U.S. to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, but he doesn’t know of any suggestion that Keystone approval is conditional on such an agreement.

“We can’t do it as a quid pro quo on Keystone,” Doer said. “We don’t think that Keystone is a climate issue.”

Asked about the discussions with the U.S., Christopher McCluskey, spokesman for Canadian Resource Minister Greg Rickford, said his nation will work with other governments on a “fair, effective” deal covering emissions from all nations, including the U.S.
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The Canadians are right that Keystone is not a climate issue since it is more climate friendly than the current mode of transportation that Obama's dilatory tactics have forced on the industry.  But the fact that they would even suggest it is another example of the bad faith of the anti energy left in dealing with the pipeline.  It is another way for them to try to drive up teh cost of fossil fuels to make theri inefficient alternatives look more competitive.