OBAMA: The Keystone Pipeline Should Not Be Approved Unless It Meets Strict Emission Standards

President Barack Obama said in a major address on climate change Tuesday that the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline should not be approved unless the State Department determines that it will not increase greenhouse gas emissions.

"The net effects of the pipeline's impact on our climate will be absolutely critical in determining whether this project will be allowed to go forward," Obama said during an address at Georgetown University.

He said it will not be built if it contributes to carbon pollution.

"Our national interest will be served only if this project doesn't significant exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution," he said.

In his speech, Obama outlined plans to curb carbon emissions. There was no indication he had been planning to address the Keystone situation, a topic on which he has carefully avoided weighing in.

He has faced enormous pressure from environmental activists to shut down the planned construction of the pipeline, which they worry could harm the environment.

The State Department and activists have bickered about a draft study that determined the pipeline would not greatly increase greenhouse gases. The study found that while building the pipeline itself wouldn't increase emissions, the development of oil sands crudes in general could:

[F]rom a global perspective, the decision whether or not to build the Project will not affect the extraction and combustion of WCSB oil sands crude on the global market. However, on a life-cycle basis and compared with reference crudes refined in the United States, oil sands crudes could result in an increase in incremental GHG emissions.

However, the EPA has objected to that conclusion.

The pronouncement doesn't mean that Obama has killed the project, but ensures that it first meets some kind of environmental standard.

Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, said in a statement that Obama's speech should lead to a quick approval of the pipeline's construction.

"The standard the president set today should lead to speedy approval of the Keystone pipeline," Buck said. "Based on the lengthy review by the State Department, construction of the pipeline would not have a significant environmental impact. It’s time to sign off on Keystone and put Americans to work."