The Keystone XL (KXL) tar sands pipeline was just approved by Nebraska's Public Service Commission, but there is some good news. The PSC has approved an alternative route that TransCanada, the company behind the pipeline, has called unworkable.
That means TransCanada still has multiple hurdles to overcome -- so this pipeline may never be built. That gives Sierra Club and our allies the perfect opportunity to fight back by urging banks to stop funding Keystone XL.
It's becoming clear that pipelines are a risky investment. TransCanada has publicly stated that they aren't sure Keystone XL will ever be built. They’re having a hard time finding enough customers, and oil industry insiders say there’s no need for more tar sands. We can stop the tar sands at the source by stopping TransCanada’s funding from Wells Fargo.
Funding Keystone XL is out of line with Wells Fargo's public commitments to both climate action and respect of Indigenous rights. The pipeline would carry 830,000 barrels of the world's dirtiest oil -- tar sands -- every day from Alberta, Canada, to the U.S. Gulf Coast. It would be responsible for annual greenhouse gas emissions equal to 37.7 million cars -- a disaster for our climate. Keystone XL would cross the Ogallala Aquifer, which is one of the country's largest sources of freshwater. A spill in the aquifer would threaten the drinking water for millions of people. It would also cut directly through Sioux treaty lands and near several other reservations and the Ponca Trail of Tears -- yet Tribal Nations in Nebraska and South Dakota have not been properly consulted.
Wells Fargo has an opportunity right now to move away from the financial and reputational risks of Keystone XL. Along with JPMorgan Chase and others, Wells Fargo currently supports two loans to TransCanada totaling $1.5 billion, which will come up for renewal this December. Wells Fargo can stop this funding right away and move to end all of its investments in KXL and tar sands.
When we stand together, we are stronger than Big Oil's money, and in this moment we can still fight back by showing Wells Fargo that they will be held publicly accountable for betting against our climate by investing in dirty fuels. Send your message now.
I'm writing to urge you not to renew your bank’s funding for TransCanada and their proposed Keystone XL (KXL). This pipeline is, simply put, a bad investment -- TransCanada has already stated publicly that they are having a hard time finding shippers and the pipeline may not be economically viable. TransCanada has been trying to build KXL for more than a decade, and they continue to be stopped by the courts and by a grassroots movement that continues to grow in our opposition to this project. Just recently, a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration violated bedrock U.S. environmental laws when approving a federal permit for TransCanada’s KXL project. This is another major setback for TransCanada, and it should make it clear that this company and their notorious pipeline are not a good investment for Wells Fargo. TransCanada’s proposal for KXL would be as disastrous for clean water, clean air, local communities, and Indigenous rights today as it was a decade ago -- and the threat to the climate is even greater now that we have even less time to make a rapid transition off tar sands and fossil fuels. KXL would carry 830,000 barrels of the world's dirtiest oil, tar sands, every day from Alberta to the US Gulf Coast. It would be responsible for annual greenhouse gas emissions equal to 37.7 million cars -- a disaster for our climate. A report from the University of Nebraska determined that KXL is likely to have 91 significant spills, putting water sources and wildlife habitat at risk along the entire 1,179-mile route. KXL would cross the Ogallala Aquifer, which is one of the country's largest sources of freshwater. A spill in the aquifer would threaten the drinking water for millions of Americans as well as the livelihood of local ranchers and farmers. The pipeline also lies within one mile of thousands of water wells in Nebraska, Montana, and South Dakota -- putting even more people at risk of losing access to clean water. It's not a matter of if, but when, a pipeline will spill. You have also claimed that you value Indigenous rights, but your support for TransCanada is out of line with this commitment. KXL would cut directly through Sioux treaty lands and near several other tribal reservations and the historic Ponca Trail of Tears, yet Tribal Nations in Nebraska and South Dakota have not been properly consulted. Instead, TransCanada failed to present a single witness during the KXL hearings to address the damage this pipeline would cause to sacred and historic sites. That's why five sovereign Indigenous nations in Nebraska signed a treaty opposing KXL and tar sands development. More than 150 Tribes have signed on to this treaty, including every Tribe along the KXL route from Canada to Nebraska, in opposition to this dangerous pipeline. In 2015, you joined five other major financial institutions to issue a joint statement asking for climate commitments from world leaders negotiating what would become the Paris Climate Agreement. I applaud your efforts, but it's clear your own business practices do not align with what you've asked of world leaders since you continue to fund fossil fuel development. Right now, you have an opportunity to move away from the financial and reputational risks of TransCanada and Keystone XL. There are at least two credit facilities, totaling $1.5 billion, to TransCanada that Wells Fargo participates in that will come up for renewal this December. Wells Fargo can end its role in these loans right away, and move to end all of its other investments in KXL and the tar sands. The world is watching to see whether Wells Fargo will choose to finance the continued violation of the rights of Indigenous people and exacerbation of climate change, or whether they will choose to lead by supporting clean energy and human rights. I urge Wells Fargo to reconsider its financial support for TransCanada. Thank you.