New JPAC chair calls for greater public involvement in environmental issues
CEC citizen committee invites you to a North American citizens’ forum
Montreal, 17 January 2012—“We face new challenges every day: climate change, the loss of ecosystems, pollution, the flow of trade and all of their environmental impacts,” said Martín Gutiérrez Lacayo, 2012 chairman of the Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC) of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), as part of a video message to the citizens of Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Gutiérrez Lacayo, who heads Pronatura México, A.C., a major environmental organization in Mexico, added, “JPAC provides an opportunity for citizens throughout North America to make their voices heard. Our unique mandate to engage with interested citizens and communities and to advise the top environmental authorities in our three countries—the CEC Council—means public participation in JPAC events and activities can be an effective tool for the protection of natural resources and our environment.”
The incoming JPAC chair announced an early opportunity for such participation will present itself in April 2012 when JPAC will lead a public forum in Toronto, Ontario, to examine electrical power generation and climate change in North America, among other issues.
The public is invited to join JPAC at this meeting, which will consider the most recent information concerning the energy and environment challenge facing North America, and to assist JPAC in consideration of any advice to the CEC Council in confronting this challenge.
The event can be watched live via webcast on the CEC website, where you may follow deliberations in English, French or Spanish, as well as ask questions and offer comments via email.
Further information on the event—including the location and preliminary agenda of activities—will soon be available on the CEC website, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
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.