Tar Sands Oil

Playing Politics With Tar Sands Oil

THE EDITORIAL BOARD NYT

Just when President Obama marches forward on the issue of climate change, Congress scuttles backward.

Last week in Beijing, America and China agreed to significant joint reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Over the weekend, at the G-20 meeting in Brisbane, Australia, Mr. Obama pledged a $3 billion contribution to the Green Climate Fund, a multilateral effort to help vulnerable countries develop clean energy sources and adapt to the impacts of global warming.

And Congress? On Friday, the House voted to order the administration to approve the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline that would run from the tar sands of Alberta to refineries on the gulf coast — a huge undertaking that can only add to the climate problem. The Senate may well do the same this week.

It is important to understand what these votes are. They are not votes for permanent construction jobs, since most of the construction jobs would evaporate the minute the pipeline was finished. They are not votes for energy independence, since the United States is in the midst of a robust oil boom of its own.

They are almost entirely acts of political theater, designed in the House to favor the extractive industries, and in the Senate to prop up the troubled runoff election campaign of Mary Landrieu, a Democrat and co-sponsor of the Senate bill who is desperate to claim credit for getting the pipeline approved. The maneuvering in the Senate is occurring with the tacit endorsement of Harry Reid, the Democratic leader, who has said he personally opposes the pipeline but seems willing to allow this vote to go forward.

The White House has hinted, though not flatly promised, that Mr. Obama will veto any bill that passes. He should. This decision is his to make, not Congress’s, and the State Department review process that will inform that decision is not yet complete.

Our hope is that when the time comes he will say no. But in any case, he should not be rushed by lawmakers more worried about their own political futures than the country’s long-term well-being.