Hillary Clinton has broken her longstanding silence over the construction of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, saying at a campaign stop in Iowa that she opposes the controversial project.
The Democratic presidential candidate said she decided to speak out after concluding the ongoing debate over whether the pipeline should be built had become a distraction to larger efforts to fight climate change.
That distraction, she said, is "unfortunately, from my perspective, one that interferes with our ability to move forward to deal with the other issues. Therefore I oppose it."
Clinton's announcement came as she has ceded ground in some polls to Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who has long opposed the project. It also followed the appearance of protesters at some of her recent campaign events holding signs that read, "I'm Ready for Hillary to say no KXL."
The former U.S. secretary of state had previously said she shouldn't take a position on the issue, because she didn't want to interfere with the Obama administration as it considers whether to allow construction of a pipeline that would transport oil from Canada's oilsands to refineries on the Gulf of Mexico.
But spurred on by environmental activists and liberals who play a key role in the Democratic primaries and vigorously oppose the pipeline project, Clinton had expressed impatience in recent weeks over the Obama administration's drawn-out deliberations.
Her campaign said the White House was briefed on Clinton's position prior to her comments and she privately made her opposition to the pipeline known when she discussed her plans with labour officials in recent weeks.
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley applauded Clinton's stance. Notley has long opposed the project, saying upgrading and refining should be done closer to home.
"I do think we need to get our product to tidewater," she said. "I'm just not convinced that getting our product down to the gulf where there's a whole bunch of cheap refining is absolutely the best strategy for an industry in Alberta when Albertans want to see focus more on upgrading and refining."
