Obama pressed on Keystone XL

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is being pressed by opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline to tie any approval to measures that would curb climate change, reflecting mounting pressure on the administration to mitigate the project’s effect if it goes forward.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., is among those who want to see new steps to limit greenhouse-gas emissions in the United States if TransCanada Corp.’s petition to build the $5.3 billion pipeline to carry tar-sands oil from Canada to U.S. refineries is approved.

Other lawmakers and those advocating tougher climate-change protections said the administration could extract concessions from Canada, such as a higher carbon tax in Alberta, where the pipeline originates.

Most congressional Democrats, including leaders in the House and Senate, have joined environmentalists in fighting the project backed by the oil industry, labor unions, the Chamber of Commerce and Canadians.

Some lawmakers who oppose the pipeline have said it appears likely Obama will would sign off, triggering their calls to mitigate environmental and political fallout.In a deliberation that has stretched over four years, Obama first rejected the pipeline because its original route took it through Nebraska’s Sand Hills region, a national natural landmark. Calgary-based TransCanada changed the route and filed a new application, now under review by the State Department, which must act on pipelines crossing an international border.

A decision is expected by year’s end.