9. Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC)

Abstract

The CEC was created in 1994 by the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), concluded by Canada, Mexico, and the United States as a side agreement to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The CEC’s mission is to facilitate collaboration among the three countries and encourage public participation to foster conservation, protection, and enhancement of the North American environment. The CEC is comprised of a Council, the Secretariat, and the Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC). The Council is composed of cabinet-level environmental officials from each of the NAAEC parties; the Secretariat, headed by an executive director, implements a cooperative work program on various North American environmental matters; and JPAC is a fifteen-member advisory body to the Council. On 27–8 June, the Council held its twenty-fourth regular session, with this year’s focus on innovation for clean growth with a focus on North American youth. To mark Canada’s 150th anniversary, the 2017 CEC Council session took place in the birthplace of Canadian Confederation—Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The Council issued a call for proposals through the community grant (NAPECA) program; announced the winners of the CEC Youth Innovation Challenge; consolidated its engagement with the Roster of Experts on Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK); and approved cooperative work projects. The United States agreed to chair the CEC Council for the coming year and announced that it will host the 2018 CEC Council Session in Oklahoma City. This year marked the closing of the Operational Plan 2015–16 and the launching of the Operational Plan 2017–18, which comprises cooperative projects on environment, trade, and sustainability; strategic stakeholder and partner engagement; continued work on the submissions on enforcement matters process; and continued development of innovative tools and information resources. The present report gives an overview of these activities and their accomplishments in 2017. In the second half of 2017, the parties entered into discussions to modernize NAFTA, which marked the start of a transitional period for the CEC. Given the link between NAFTA and the NAAEC, changes to NAFTA are expected to affect the CEC, in a yet undetermined manner. We anticipate more news will unfold during 2018–19.