Washington, DC — The climate campaign 350.org issued the following reaction to the news that Mitch McConnell and the GOP will be taking up the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline and other fossil fuel industry priorities as their first order of business in the new Congress.
“This is just the climate denial agenda that the fossil fuel industry paid for,” said Sara Shor, Tar Sands Campaign Manager for 350.org. “We’re going to fight this entire denier agenda tooth and nail, and show President Obama he has the support he needs to veto these bills and reject Keystone XL once-and-for-all. With the GOP making the pipeline their top priority, it makes it even more likely President Obama will say no to the project. It’s his job to protect the interests of the American people, not big polluters.”
This Thursday evening, 350.org is hosting a strategy session for their tens of thousands of #NoKXL activists across the country to talk about the next steps for the campaign. Next week, 350.org will be releasing a online presentation that shows how Keystone XL fails President Obama’s climate test.
The group is also planning a number of protests and actions during January to keep the pressure on Congress and President Obama. When Sen. Landrieu attempted to pass a bill approving Keystone XL, pipeline activists flooded Senate phone lines with thousands of calls, occupied two Senators’ offices in DC, and hosted multiple in-district actions protesting the project.
“The fossil fuel industry has all the money, but we’ve got the people,” said Shor. “When it comes to politics, intensity often carries the day. We’re going to bring the heat.”
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