U.S. President Donald Trump signed orders on Tuesday smoothing the path for the controversial Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines, rolling back key Obama administration environmental actions in favor of expanding energy infrastructure.

While oil producers in Canada and North Dakota are expected to benefit from a quicker route for crude oil to U.S. Gulf Coast refiners, going ahead with the projects would mark a bitter defeat for Native American tribes and climate activists, who vowed to fight the decisions through legal action.

Trump campaigned on promises to increase domestic energy production and before taking office indicated he supported completion of the Dakota pipeline and reviving the C$8 billion ($6.1 billion) Keystone XL project, which was rejected in 2015 by then-President Barack Obama.