General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: How can we get a progressive presidential candidate at the top of Democratic ticket in 2016? [View all]villager
(26,001 posts)<snip>
"Obama's intentions on climate change are under intense international scrutiny," said Nick Mabey, founding director and chief executive of E3G, a London-based environmental organization. "Any move he makes will be carefully analyzed by the European Union and China to see what it says about his willingness to fight hard on climate change issues."
The dozen experts surveyed include climate researchers, advocates, economists, government advisers and politicians who help shape policies to manage climate change in their countries, from Mexico to South Africa to Europe. Most said they oppose the Keystone project, because of global warming concerns. If approved by the Obama administration, the Alberta-to-Texas pipeline would carry up to 830,000 barrels daily of tar sands oila type of heavy crude from Canada that uses more energy and releases more greenhouse gases during mining and refining than conventional oil.
The Keystone is seen as the linchpin in opening a coastal gateway for the flow of heavy tar sands crude from Canadas landlocked oil patch to the world marketincluding to Europe, which will soon decide whether to label the fuel as highly polluting, a classification that could restrict its import into the region.
The pipeline would "increase climate risks for us all," said Sir Brian Hoskins, a climatologist and director of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change at Imperial College London. "The world needs to rapidly reduce the carbon intensity of its energy globally if we are collectively to limit the worst risks of climate change."
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http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20130815/keystone-decision-seen-climate-change-test-obama-abroad
So, we'll see if deeds -- after six years -- at last begin catching up with words.