Invitation to Environmental Outlook Conference
Montreal, 5/30/2008-Forecasts of the environmental future for North America predict a range of possible scenarios. One constant is that the policy choices we face today-on climate change mitigation, energy use and technology, transportation and the quality of our built environment-will most certainly impact our environmental future.
These topics and the key trends expected to affect environmental quality in North America will be the subject of a public examination on 25 June at the Government Conference Centre in Ottawa, Canada. North America 2030: An Environmental Outlook is hosted by the Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC) of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), and will assist JPAC members in fulfilling their role as citizen advisors to the CEC Council of environment ministers from Canada, Mexico and the United States.
This one-day conference commences with a keynote address by Thomas Homer-Dixon, George Ignatieff Chair of Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Toronto, and author of the award-winning The Upside of Down: Catastrophe, Creativity, and the Renewal of Civilization.
A dozen international experts will explore topics encompassing the challenge for North America from global environmental change, the environmental impacts of continued growth and integration of the NAFTA partners, and issues of food, energy and environmental security. Panelists include Nobel laureates Dr. Mario Molina (1995) and members of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2007). North America’s environmental future and policy options will be further examined in relation to the global environmental outlook recently completed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
This outlook conference is open to the public. Registration includes a networking lunch and evening reception to mark the commencement of the following day’s 15th Regular Session of the CEC Council. On-site registration begins the evening of 24 June. A discussion paper, registration form, as well as full program details and agenda are available online at www.cec.org/outlook.
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.