Joe Biden signs order to revoke Keystone XL permit, Canada disappointed

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday (local time) signed an executive order that revokes a key permit for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.

This is a devastating blow to the approximately 1,200-mile-pipeline that carried oil from Canada to the US, The Hill reported.

In 2019, former President Donald Trump signed a presidential order to initiate construction of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline with a facility in Montana.

The pipeline construction was initially blocked by former President Barack Obama's administration following agitation by various environmental groups who argued that the pipeline supports the extraction of crude oil from oil sands, which pumps about 17 per cent more greenhouse gases that standard crude oil extraction.

Environmentalists have been critical of the pipeline, particularly because it is supposed to carry oil made from tar sands, whose production is carbon-intensive.

Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that he is "disappointed" to see President Joe Biden sign an executive order revoking the Keystone XL oil pipeline's permit.

"Earlier today, Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States of America. While we welcome the President's commitment to fight climate change, we are disappointed but acknowledge the President's decision to fulfill his election campaign promise on Keystone XL," Trudeau said in a statement today. "I spoke directly with President Biden about the project last November, and Ambassador Hillman and others in our government made the case to high-level officials in the incoming administration."

Trudeau added: "Workers in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and across Canada will always have our support. Canada is the single-largest supplier of energy to the United States, contributing to US energy security and economic competitiveness, and supporting thousands of jobs on both sides of the border.