The CEC welcomes new Council member Scott Pruitt
Montreal, 27 February 2017—The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) welcomes Scott Pruitt as a new member of its Council. Pruitt was confirmed on 17 February 2017 as the 14th United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator.
Administrator Pruitt joins the other two current members of the Council: Rafael Pacchiano Alamán, Mexico’s Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, and Catherine McKenna, Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
Scott Pruitt most recently served as the Attorney General for the state of Oklahoma. Before being elected attorney general, he served eight years in the Oklahoma State Senate.
“We welcome Administrator Pruitt to the CEC Council,” said CEC Executive Director César Rafael Chávez. “The CEC Secretariat will work actively with him, as well as with Secretary Pacchiano and Minister McKenna, to support the Council in advancing the environmental priorities of the three countries.”
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.