News Staff posted on March 01, 2013 15:33
European Climate Change Commissioner Connie Hedegaard was in Washington on Feb. 27 to meet with administration officials. She said a rejection of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline would send a "strong signal to the world" that the U.S. plans to meaningfully address climate change, Bloomberg reported.
She also urged the U.S. to cooperate with European Union officials on aviation rules for international flights that tax greenhouse pollution from airplanes. She said the president's message on climate change in last month's State of the Union address came as "sweet music to Europeans' ears," but called for concrete action from the administration.
Meanwhile, the State Department will soon send Congress an oil-exploration deal it concluded with Mexico last year for approval, an official told The Hill.
The Transboundary Hydrocarbons Agreement provides for joint oil exploration and reopens the Western Gap of the Gulf of Mexico to production.
"This is an area of the Gulf that has long been left unexplored because there wasn't legal certainty about such exploration. And what we were able to achieve with Mexico, I think to the benefit of both countries, will be incredibly important," Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere Roberta Jacobson said.