TransCanada CEO: Anti-Pipeline Campaign Effective, But Keystone XL Will Be Built [View all]

[unhappycamper]

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/10/31-8



Russ Girling still sees project going forward, with or without White House approval

TransCanada CEO: Anti-Pipeline Campaign Effective, But Keystone XL Will Be Built
- Andrea Germanos, staff writer
Published on Thursday, October 31, 2013 by Common Dreams

The CEO of TransCanada, the corporation behind the tar sands-carrying Keystone XL, recognized the power of activists in fighting the project but said that even a rejection from the White House won't deter the pipeline from being completed.

Russ Girling, head of the Calgary-based energy giant, was in Washington on Tuesday to meet with the State Department about the pending approval of the pipeline, and offered his thoughts about Keystone opponents and the future of the pipeline in a handful of interviews on Wednesday.

Girling acknowledged the power activists, who have given "good sound bites" that have caused the average person to be fearful of the project, have had in fighting the pipeline, in an interview with Politico. Speaking to Bloomberg, he said that Keystone foes have been able to slow down the approval process and have been “very successful in creating the impression that the pipeline equals emissions."

“There’s no question that the noise outside is having an influence on the process,” Girling told Bloomberg. “The project has been hijacked by activists that are opposed to the development of all fossil fuels.”