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Blair FitzGibbon, 202-503-6141

350.org on State Department's Rejection of TransCanada's Delay: 'That has to hurt'

Activists will launch four days of sit-ins at the Canadian Prime Minister’s office in Ottawa this Thursday to urge him to freeze new tar sands development

WASHINGTON

350.org communications director Jamie Henn issued the following reaction to the news that the State Department had rejected TransCanada's attempt to pause a review of the controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline:

"That has to hurt. The State Department recognized TransCanada's request for what is: a brazen political attempt to pause a process that long ago should have reached the inevitable conclusion that Keystone XL is a climate disaster and cannot be approved. Now that he's called TransCanada for delay of game, it's time for President Obama to blow the whistle and end this pipeline once and for all.

The tar sands industry is on the ropes. That's why tomorrow morning, 350.org Canada is launching four days of sit-ins at Prime Minister Trudeau's office to demand a freeze on new tar sands development and a just transition to 100% renewable energy. Real climate leadership means keeping fossil fuels in the ground. It's timing politicians in North America start walking the talk on climate."

This Thursday, Climate activists are launching four days of sit-ins at the Canadian Prime Minister's residence to push newly elected Justin Trudeau to freeze the expansion of the tar sands and support a just transition to 100% renewable energy.

Protesters are calling the action the "Climate Welcome," and will attempt to present Trudeau with a "gift" of boxes of millions of signatures from petitions opposing pipeline and tar sands expansion. Dozens are expected to risk arrest each day during a sit-ins in front of the Prime Minister's office.

The Climate Welcome protest, organized by 350.org Canada, is modeled on the 2011 Tar Sands Action sit-ins at the White House that led to the arrests of over 1,200 people and helped elevate the Keystone XL pipeline as the largest environmental fight in a generation.

The sit-ins in Ottawa will continue throughout the weekend, as youth, indigenous leaders, environmentalists, and people from across Canada urge the Prime Minister to support bold climate action ahead of the Paris climate talks this December.

When: November 5-8, 2015; Press conference at Rideau Falls at 9:45 a.m., march begins towards Rideau Hall at 11 a.m., arriving at Rideau Hall and attempting gift presentation at 11:30 a.m.

Where: March begins at Rideau Falls at 11 a.m. each day, arriving at Rideau Hall for sit-in at 11:30 a.m.

Visuals: Large group sit-in at the Prime Minister's residence, youth marching with signs led by First Nations and Indigenous Metis People, large banners, singing and chanting, dozens of reports detailing the scientific, economic and human rights case for freezing tar sands expansion and building a justice-based clean energy economy.

Twitter: @350Canada #ClimateWelcome #AccueilClimat

350 is building a future that's just, prosperous, equitable and safe from the effects of the climate crisis. We're an international movement of ordinary people working to end the age of fossil fuels and build a world of community-led renewable energy for all.