The Keystone XL pipeline has been suspended after Biden revoked the US permit

Construction of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline was officially completed on Wednesday, giving the project a major victory as it spends more than a decade on environmentalists fighting the development of other fossil fuels.

TC Energy and the Alberta government’s long-awaited decision to plug the $ 8 billion pipeline was highly anticipated after Joe Biden’s permission to build a U.S. leg as president was canceled in a first ceremony.

“We remain disappointed and disappointed with the situation surrounding the Keystone XL project, including the suspension of the presidential permit to cross the pipeline boundary,” said Alberta Prime Minister Jason Kenney.

The project, which would move the oil pipeline from northern Alberta to the Gulf Coast refineries, was initially opposed and became a symbol of its political stance on the future of fossil fuels in the United States.

He was blocked in 2015 by then-President Barack Obama, who said it would undermine U.S. attempts to address climate change. But Donald Trump promised to push it forward in the first week of office. The decision to remove Biden’s permit fulfilled the commitment made during the campaign’s run.

In Canada, when politicians were pressured to keep the project alive, it was Biden’s decision he was greeted with grief. This was especially the case in Alberta, where the province took a $ 1.1 billion stake in the project and provided TC Energy with another $ 4.7 billion to pay for the construction. About 150 km of pipe had already been installed in the province of Canada.

The project involved about 2,500 people in the U.S. and Alberta last year on top construction. But construction activity had been suspended since Biden decided to revoke the permit.

Canada’s production of ultra-heavy oil deposits uses more carbon than most other types of fat and becomes a target for Keystone environments, with new pipeline projects constantly boosting fossil fuel production as the world needs to reduce emissions.

“The Keystone XL sector has been a symbol of the challenges that high-level projects allow and allow not only in western Canada but throughout North America,” said Gavin MacFarlane, an analyst at Moody’s.

Other pipeline projects have also faced serious opposition. The Enbridge Line 3 expansion, which would move more oil from Canada to the south, has sparked clashes between environmentalists and police in recent days. And the future of the Dakota Access pipeline, which transports oil from the North Dakota shale parcel to the rest of the U.S., remains undecided after a judge he ordered a further environmental review.

Utilities Dominion Energy and Duke Energy fired last year $ 8 billion Atlantic coastal pipeline The project has started to rise in costs after lengthy litigation and delays.

Wednesday’s capitulation was welcomed by environmental groups as they vowed to continue fighting the pipeline elsewhere in the US.

“The fight to stop Keystone XL was never a pipeline,” said Kendall Mackey, director of the 350.org campaign. “The completion of this zombie pipeline has a precedent for President Biden and polluters to stop all Line 3, Dakota Access and fossil fuel projects.”