President Barack Obama has rejected an application to build the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada.
Speaking from the White House, Barack Obama said it would not have served the “national interests” of the US.
The pipeline’s construction has been hotly disputed for seven years, with environmentalists saying it would do irreparable damage.
However, Barack Obama said the pipeline had taken on an “overinflated role” in the climate change debate.
The proposed pipeline would have run 1,179-miles taking 800,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta, Canada, to Steele City, Nebraska.
Barack Obama said it would not have lowered petrol prices, nor created long-term jobs affected energy dependence.
“The pipeline would not make a meaningful long-term contribution to our economy,” he said.
Republican presidential candidates condemned the news, with Jeb Bush calling it an attack on the US economy.
In February, the Republican-led Congress voted to begin construction immediately, but Barack Obama vetoed the bill to await environmental reports.
The decision comes as world leaders plan to meet in Paris at the end of the month to finalize a major global climate agreement.
The agreement, which could be reached at the meeting known as the UN Climate Change Conference or COP 21, would be a major part of the president’s legacy.
While the project is dead for now, the pipeline controversy will not end any time soon.
Proponents will almost certainly challenge the decision in court and if a Republican is elected president in 2016, construction could yet be approved.
The Keystone XL pipeline also generated controversy outside of Washington, souring relations between the former Canadian PM Stephen Harper and President Barack Obama.
President Barack Obama said he had spoken to newly-elected Canadian PM Justin Trudeau and they agreed the issue of climate change trumped any differences of opinion over the pipeline.
President Barack Obama intends to rule on the fate of the Keystone XL oil pipeline before the end of his term, the White House said.
TransCanada, the company behind the pipeline, had wanted to delay the approval process until after his term.
The White House said on November 3 “there might be politics at play” in the decision by TransCanada.
Some analysts think the company is waiting in hopes that the next president would welcome the project.
TransCanada had complained for years about delays from the Obama administration and had aggressively urged that the project be approved as quickly as possible.
The Keystone XL would send more than 800,000 barrels a day of mostly Canadian oil to Nebraska. From there, the oil would travel to refineries and ports along the US Gulf Coast.
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The project has pitted Republicans and other supporters – who say it will create much needed jobs – against many Democrats and environmentalists, who warn the pipeline will add to carbon emissions and contribute to global warming.
President Barack Obama vetoed a Republican bill approving the pipeline in February.
All the Democratic candidates for president – including front-runner Hillary Clinton – oppose the project. The Republican field supports the pipeline.
Outgoing Canadian PM Stephen Harper was a strong proponent of the pipeline, but his successor Justin Trudeau – while supportive – is less bullish on the scheme.
The Keystone XL pipeline project was first proposed more than six years ago, but has languished, awaiting a permit required by the federal government because it would cross an international boundary.
The Keystone XL pipeline maker has asked the US government to put its review of the controversial project on hold.
TransCanada says the pause is necessary while it negotiates with Nebraska over the pipeline’s route through the state.
The move came as a surprise as TransCanada executives have pushed hard to get approval.
Environmental groups oppose the 1,179-mile pipeline, saying it will increase greenhouse gas emissions.
President Barack Obama is expected to reject the project, which has also been undermined by falling oil prices.
On November 2, the White House indicated that it would rule on the project before the end of Barack Obama’s term in office in January 2017.
However, a delay to the government review might leave a decision in the hands of President Barack Obama’s successor in the White House.
In February 2015, the newly Republican-led Congress voted to begin construction immediately, but Barack Obama vetoed the bill, saying it undermined the necessary review process.
“Our expectation at this point is that the president will make a decision before the end of his administration on the Keystone pipeline, but when exactly that will be, I don’t know at this point,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters on November 2.
In a statement, TransCanada CEO Russ Girling said: “We are asking [the] State [Department] to pause its review of Keystone XL based on the fact that we have applied to the Nebraska Public Service Commission for approval of its preferred route in the state.”
The Keystone XL pipeline would run from the oil sands in Alberta, Canada, to Steele City, Nebraska, where it could join an existing pipeline.
It could carry 830,000 barrels of oil each day, and provide access to international markets.
Many of North America’s oil refineries are based in the Gulf Coast, and industry groups on both sides of the border want to benefit.
However, environmentalists say the Keystone XL pipeline would boost the emission of greenhouse gases and local community groups are concerned about accidents and pollution.
Hillary Clinton says she opposes the controversial Keystone XL pipeline which would carry Canadian oil to the US.
The US State Department is still studying whether to go ahead with the Keystone XL project.
The Democratic presidential candidate has previously avoided taking a position on the matter.
Now, at a campaign event in Iowa, Hillary Clinton said the pipeline would be a “distraction from the important work we have to do to combat climate change”.
“Therefore, I oppose it,” she told supporters.
Until now, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had avoiding giving an opinion on the project, saying she did not want to interfere with the Obama administration’s deliberations.
However, Hillary Clinton’s main rival for the Democratic candidacy, Bernie Sanders, has long opposed the scheme and called on her to make her position clear.
The 1,179-mile pipe was first proposed seven years ago, and would transport oil from the oil sands in Alberta, Canada, to the Gulf of Mexico via Nebraska.
Supporters say the project will create jobs and US increase energy security, while opponents say it will only increase carbon emissions.
President Barack Obama has vetoed the Keystone XL oil pipeline bill.
The Republican-led Congress sent the bill to the president on February 24.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said President Barack Obama vetoed the bill “without any drama or fanfare or delay”.
The 875-mile pipeline would carry tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada, to Nebraska where it joins pipes running to Texas.
The project has pitted Republicans and other supporters, who say it will create much needed jobs, against many Democrats and environmentalists, who warn the pipeline will add to carbon emissions and contribute to global warming.
The Keystone bill is Barack Obama’s third veto as president and his first since Republicans won full control of Congress in November.
More vetoes are expected in the coming months as Republicans in Congress craft legislation to reverse Barack Obama’s action on health care, immigration and financial regulation.
The Keystone XL pipeline project was first proposed more than six years ago, but has languished, awaiting a permit required by the federal government because it would cross an international boundary.
The White House has said the bill passed by Congress interfered with the normal permitting process.
Without a veto-busting majority in Congress, Republicans are considering inserting Keystone into other critical legislation dealing with energy, spending or infrastructure in the hope that Barack Obama would be less likely to veto those priorities.
President Barack Obama has threatened to veto the bill approving the controversial Keystone XL pipeline if it passes Congress, the White House has announced.
It is the first major legislation to be introduced in the Republican-controlled Congress and a vote is expected in the House later this week.
Spokesman Josh Earnest said the legislation would undermine a “well-established” review process.
The $5.4 billion-project was first introduced in 2008.
Barack Obama has been critical of the pipeline, saying at the end of last year it would primarily benefit Canadian oil firms and not contribute much to already dropping petrol prices.
Environmentalists are also critical of the project, a proposed 1,179-mile pipe that would run from the oil sands in Alberta, Canada, to Steele City, Nebraska, where it could join an existing pipe.
The project is the subject of a unresolved lawsuit in Nebraska over the route of the pipeline.
“There is already a well-established process in place to consider whether or not infrastructure projects like this are in the best interest of the country,” Josh Earnest said on January 6.
He added that the question of the Nebraska route was “impeding a final conclusion” from the US on the project.
Despite the veto threat from the White House, the bill sponsors say they have enough Democratic votes to overcome a procedural hurdle to pass in the Senate.
“The Congress on a bipartisan basis is saying we are approving this project,” said Republican John Hoeven, one of the bill’s sponsors.
John Hoeven and Democratic Senator Joe Manchin said they would be open to additional amendments to the bill, a test of the changing political realities of the Senate.
Democratic critics of the bill are said to be planning to add measures to prohibit exporting the oil abroad, use American materials in the pipeline construction and increased investment in clean energy.
It is unclear if those amendments would gather the two-thirds of votes needed in both chambers to override Barack Obama’s veto.
Daryl Hannah was arrested Tuesday in front of the White House along with other environmental protesters who oppose a proposed Canada – U.S. Gulf Coast oil pipeline.
The 50 year-old actress, well known from “Splash” and “Roxanne”, was arrested after refusing police orders to leave the sit-in protest and she was released after paying a $100 fine, U.S. Parks police said.
Daryl Hannah was among more than 70 people arrested Tuesday.
Keystone XL pipeline would bring oil sands petroleum from Canada to Texas refineries and will cost 7 billion dollars. The proposed oil pipeline would go through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas to refineries in Houston and Port Arthur, Texas.
Daryl Hannah was among more than 70 people arrested Tuesday
Hundreds of people have been arrested outside the White House since the Tar Sands Action protest began on August 20, according to police.
Before she was arrested, Daryl Hannah told The Associated Press the protesters want to be free from dependence on fossil fuels.
Daryl Hannah was not the only actress involved in an incident in front of the White House, either “Superman” actress Margot Kidder was arrested there last week.
The protesters called for clean energy investments instead. Daryl Hannah said they hope President Barack Obama will not bow to oil lobbyists.
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