Media Release

Join our June 14-15 live webcasts from the CEC Council’s 2016 annual session

Participate in the discussions via www.cec.org/webcast

Montreal, 2 June 2016—Join us via live webcast on June 14 for a discussion hosted by the CEC’s Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC) on biodiversity and climate change and, on June 15, for a public Town Hall with the Council that will focus on the role of youth within the work of the CEC, in particular with regard to ecosystems and climate change, and supporting sustainable communities. During the Town Hall, the Council will be answering questions from the public in-person and online through social media.

The JPAC meeting is being held on June 14 in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, Mexico, in conjunction with the CEC Council’s 23rd Regular Session.

During the JPAC meeting, committee members and experts will discuss the intricate connection between biodiversity and climate change, a relationship that is recognized in several international initiatives, including the Paris Agreement on climate change, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, and the agenda for this year’s Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity meeting (COP13).

At the Council Session in Tuxtla Gutiérrez on June 15, Rafael Pacchiano Alamán, Mexico’s Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, will host Canadian Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna and United States Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy.

The Council is the CEC’s governing body and is composed of the highest-level environmental authorities (cabinet level or equivalent) from Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

JPAC is composed of fifteen citizens (five from each country) and advises the Council on any matter within the scope of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation. It also serves as a source of information for the CEC Secretariat and ensures active public participation and transparency in the actions of the Commission.

Where: www.cec.org/webcast

When:  Tuesday, June 14, beginning at 9 a.m. CDT

Wednesday, June 15, beginning at 9 a.m. CDT

REGISTER HERE to receive a webcast reminder the morning of the event.

The meeting will be broadcast in English, French and Spanish feeds and participants are encouraged to send in their questions and comments via Facebook, Twitter and email during the Q&A segments.

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.

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