To the Editor:

Re “Mr. Obama’s Easy Call on Keystone Bill” (editorial, Feb. 13):

The New York Times argued that “not building a pipeline means that more oil — and more carbon dioxide — will be left in the ground.” Since the Keystone XL pipeline was delayed three years ago, oil sands production has increased, United States imports of Canadian oil have increased, and Canadian oil by rail to the United States has grown tenfold.

In 2014, the State Department found that Keystone XL would have no significant environmental impacts and predicted that without Keystone XL, Canadian and United States Bakken oil will reach the Gulf Coast by rail, with 28 to 42 percent higher greenhouse gas emissions, and significantly greater safety risks in terms of deaths and injuries.

The energy expert Daniel Yergin’s consultancy, as well as the California Air Resources Board and the European Union, have determined that oil sands now have the same greenhouse gas emissions as other heavy oils, notably the same as Venezuelan oil, which would be displaced by Keystone XL.

We need effective policies to reduce greenhouse gases. For example, Canada and the United States have increased vehicle fuel efficiency standards together.