CEC Secretariat welcomes new Council member Catherine McKenna
Montreal, 5 November 2015—The Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) welcomes as a new member of the CEC Council, Catherine McKenna, who was appointed on 4 November 2015 as Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
Minister McKenna joins the other two current members of the Council: Rafael Pacchiano Alamán, Mexico’s Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, and Gina McCarthy, Administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
“It is a great pleasure to welcome Minister McKenna to the CEC Council,” said CEC Executive Director Irasema Coronado. “The CEC Secretariat will work diligently with her, as well as with Secretary Pacchiano and Administrator McCarthy, to support the Council in meeting its priorities on stewardship of the North American environment.”
A press release (in English and French only) from the Canadian government on Minister McKenna’s appointment to Cabinet can be viewed here.
As the governing body of the CEC, the Council is composed of the highest-level environmental authorities (cabinet-level or equivalent) from Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The Council oversees the implementation of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) and serves as a forum for the discussion of environmental matters within the scope of the Agreement.
About the CEC
The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) was established in 1994 by the governments of Canada, Mexico and the United States through the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation, a parallel environmental agreement to NAFTA. As of 2020, the CEC is recognized and maintained by the Environmental Cooperation Agreement, in parallel with the new Free Trade Agreement of North America. The CEC brings together a wide range of stakeholders, including the general public, Indigenous people, youth, nongovernmental organizations, academia, and the business sector, to seek solutions to protect North America’s shared environment while supporting sustainable development for the benefit of present and future generations
The CEC is governed and funded equally by the Government of Canada through Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Government of the United States of Mexico through the Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, and the Government of the United States of America through the Environmental Protection Agency.