“Nowhere, however, do you explain how killing the Keystone XL pipeline project directly advances the goals of ‘protect[ing] Americans and the domestic economy from harmful climate impacts,’” they said in their letter. “Nor does your decision actually cure any of the climate ills you reference.”
The attorneys general went on to claim that killing the pipeline will only result in Canadian crude oil being trucked or brought by rail into the U.S., thus creating more carbon dioxide emissions than would have been through the pipeline.
“Observers are thus left with only one reasonable supposition: it is a symbolic act of virtue signaling to special interests and the international community.”
They also suggested they might initiate legal action, telling the president “states are reviewing available legal options to protect our residents and sovereign interests.”
“Your decision will result in devastating damage to many of our states and local communities. Even those states outside the path of the Keystone XL pipeline — indeed all Americans — will suffer serious, detrimental consequences.”
The attorneys general also were critical of Biden climate czar John Kerry for his suggestion that out-of-work oil and gas industry employees would get a job building solar panels.
They called his comments “heartless.”
“[I]t’s cold comfort to suggest to now-jobless Americans that by turning the page on projects like Keystone XL, workers can look forward to high-paying green energy jobs that don’t yet exist,” said the letter. “It’s bad enough for the government to pick winners and losers in the marketplace, but much worse when the winners are aspirational.”
The letter was led by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and was signed by attorneys general of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and West Virginia.