CEC Strategic Plan

on Trade and Environment

Our mission

 

To facilitate cooperation and public participation to foster conservation, protection 

and enhancement of the North American environment for the benefit of present and 

future generations, in the context of increasing economic, trade and social links 

among Canada, Mexico and the United States.

17 June 2005
Commission for Environmental Cooperation

393, rue St-Jacques Ouest, bureau 200

Montreal (Quebec) Canada H2Y 1N9 

info@cec.org

http://www.cec.org
Background

Goal and objectives

Renewable energy

Trade and enforcement of environmental laws

Ongoing environmental assessement of NAFTA

Green purchasing

Market-based mechanisms for sustainable use

Invasive alien species

Conclusion

Annex: Project criteria

n Criteria 1: Required by NAAEC or relevant to its objectives

n Criteria 2: Builds on or contributes to CEC work

n Criteria 3: Leverages or catalyzes work by others

n Criteria 4: Responds to stakeholders

Contents
The Governments of Canada, the United Mexican 

States, and the United States of America entered into 

the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) 

and the North American Agreement on Environmental 

Cooperation (NAAEC) in 1994. The three Governments envisioned the NAAEC and the Commission 

for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), as the primary 

means for addressing environment issues in the context 

of their commitment to greater trade liberalization 

under the NAFTA. 

NAAEC Article 10(6) establishes that the CEC Council 

shall cooperate with the NAFTA Free Trade Commission (FTC) to achieve the environmental goals 

and objectives of the NAFTA by, among other things, 

contributing to the prevention or resolution of environment-related trade disputes and considering on an 

ongoing basis the environmental effects of the NAFTA. 

To foster this relationship, a 10(6) working group was 

established that engages trade and environment officials 

in addressing issues of common concern as they arise, 

avoiding conflict, and leveraging resources.

A decade after NAFTA entered into force, however, 

opportunities for work under the CEC’s trade and environment program area, intended to be the cornerstone 

of the CEC Work Program, remained unexplored. In 

2004, the Report of the Ten-year Review and Assessment Committee to the Council of the CEC (the 

TRAC report) noted, “[a] decade after negotiating the 

NAAEC...the Parties still pursue their trade and environment policies largely separately rather than through 

the CEC. One of the results is that they are not always 

in a position to anticipate—and thus to prevent—environmental problems associated with increased trade 

and economic development.” 

To increase the capacity of the three countries to identify and address trade-related environmental concerns, 

to reinvigorate the relationship between the CEC and 

the FTC and to bring more focus to the CEC work, 

the CEC Council agreed to develop a strategic plan on 

trade and environment under the auspices of the 10(6) 

Working Group. 

The Trade and Environment Strategic Plan will serve 

as a guide for the CEC and the FTC in cooperatively 

defining and coordinating mutually supportive trade 

and environment work in North America. It will help 

to establish a better working relationship between the 

CEC and the FTC and will raise awareness among trade 

and environment officials of the trade and environment 

work undertaken under the NAFTA and the NAAEC. 

Ultimately, the Strategic Plan will lead, in the longterm, to better-informed policy planning and more 

integrated strategies and decisions between the FTC 

and the CEC.

Background


Meeting these challenges will require a deeper relationship between environment and trade policy makers in all 

three Parties. As directed by the Council in the Puebla 

Declaration, the first task of this re-energized 10(6) 

group was to create a strategic plan to guide the CEC’s 

work on trade, environment and economy for the next 

five years. Working together, the 10(6) Working Group 

identified a simple goal: 

n To promote policies and actions that provide 

mutual benefits for the environment, trade and 

the economy.

To reach that goal, the Group identified four specific 

objectives:

n Enhance North American trade in green products and services, with a view to improving 

environmental protection, promoting sustainable 

use of biodiversity, removing trade barriers and 

utilizing market-based approaches.

n Increase the capacity of the three countries to 

identify and address trade-related environmental 

concerns to achieve mutual benefits for trade 

and the environment and improve collaboration 

among the three countries in these areas.

n Improve regional and national coordination, 

including between the CEC and the FTC through 

the 10(6) working group.

n Broaden understanding of trade and environment linkages and thereby promote policy coherence, both at the domestic and regional levels in 

North America.

To meet these objectives, the Working Group focused its 

activities on six specific areas, as outlined in the Puebla 

Declaration: establishing key elements to enhance markets for renewable energy; addressing issues related to 

trade pathways for invasive species; trade and enforcement of environmental laws, including enforcement 

of domestic laws that address transboundary trade in 

environmentally sensitive goods and materials; environmental procurement practices; market-based approaches 

to connect North American ecoregions; and sharing, as 

appropriate, information on methodologies for conducting environmental reviews of trade agreements with 

a view to better assessing the environmental effects of 

NAFTA. While these six areas are the primary focus, 

the Working Group retains the flexibility to focus 10(6) 

efforts on other urgent matters that may arise, and that 

support the Plan’s goal and objectives.

Although this program considers six specific areas of 

work, during 2005 projects will focus only on five of 

them. Work on market-based mechanisms for sustainable use projects will begin in 2006.

The Group identified criteria to assist in both selecting 

projects to achieve the goal and objectives, and in evaluating the progress made. These criteria will help ensure 

that the trade and environment work focuses on the 

CEC’s strengths, does not duplicate the work of others, 

and builds on CEC activities by connecting to the work 

of other CEC working groups. For a complete list of the 

criteria please see the Annex.

Goal and objectives
Projects will promote the North American 

renewable energy market: 

n Share best practices on developing a renewable 

energy market; 

n Enhance the use of available information about 

renewable energy resources; 

n Investigate policies aimed at leveling the playing 

field related to transmission access; 

n Provide guidance for calculating the environmental 

benefits of renewables;

n Promote purchases of renewable energy; and

n Take actions to promote a North American market 

for renewable energy certificates.

By harnessing abundant, naturally occurring sources of 

energy, such as the sun, the wind, geothermal heat, biomass, bio-fuels, and bio-plastics, renewable energy can 

help provide for current and future North American 

energy needs with few environmental impacts.

The North American renewable energy market faces 

a number of challenges including higher initial costs, 

transmission line service gaps, and the differing renewable energy purchasing requirements employed by 

local, state/provincial, and national governments. A 

positive development is the emerging voluntary market 

for renewable energy certificates (RECs). RECs allow 

consumers to support renewable energy even if their 

local utility does not provide it directly. Increased outreach and education can foster REC markets.

Through targeted actions, the Parties and the CEC can 

address some of the informational and transactional 

barriers that add to the cost of renewable energy and 

assist policymakers as they implement policies to promote renewable energy.

Renewable energy


Projects will promote and facilitate training, compliance 

assistance and enforcement to expedite and facilitate

 the movement of legal materials while stopping illegal 

shipments that could present threats to human health 

or the environment:

n Promote and facilitate the training of law and custom 

enforcement officials to detect, identify, analyze, and 

enforce against illegal shipments of hazardous waste, 

ozone depleting substances, protected species, and other 

illegal materials;

n Develop models for information sharing among the 

Parties to foster improved understanding of illegal activities and the movement of illegal goods; and

n Promote and develop compliance assistance activities 

aimed at informing firms of the laws, procedures and best 

practices related to transboundary shipping.

Illegal shipments of hazardous materials, waste, and 

wildlife threaten human health and the environment. 

According to the International Crime Threat Assessment Report, international crime syndicates world-wide 

earn $13.5 to $22 billion annually from hazardous waste 

dumping, smuggling hazardous materials, and exploiting 

and trafficking in protected national resources. 

Improved training and coordination of customs officials, 

environmental officials and law enforcement personnel 

will allow them to spot potentially illegal shipments and 

take appropriate action. Likewise, training and improved 

communication will enable the Parties to quickly identify 

legal shipments and expedite their movement. 

Training and compliance assistance to affected firms will 

help speed trade in legal goods while providing greater 

protection for human health and the environment. 

Trade and enforcement of environmental laws
Projects will continue documenting any environmental 

effects of trade liberalization in North America; improve the 

capacity of CEC and the Parties to analyze and understand 

NAFTA’s environmental effects; and, support information 

sharing between Canada and the United States and with 

Mexico, as appropriate, on methodologies for conducting 

environmental reviews of trade agreements:

n Identify gaps and data needs in order to better assess 

the possible relationship between increased NAFTArelated economic activity and environmental conditions, 

and the economic and regulatory effects of trade liberalization on the environment;

n Maximize data availability through CEC activities such 

as the Taking Stock reports;

n Support sectoral analysis including through the North 

American Symposia on Understanding the Linkages 

Between Trade and Environment;

n Build synergies and share information among the 

Parties with the aim of further developing, refining, 

and testing a framework for assessing the environmental impacts of trade, with a view to enhancing the 

environmental reviews of NAFT; and.

n Engage with citizens and civil organizations in all of the 

three countries, especially at the community level.

Article 10(6)(d) of the North American Agreement 

on Environmental Cooperation requires the Parties on an ongoing basis to assess the environmental 

effects of the NAFTA. As a result, promoting a better 

understanding of trade and environmental linkages 

has been central to the CEC mandate.

Ongoing environmental assessment of NAFTA 


Projects will promote North American markets for green 

products and services:

n Assist in enhancing the compatibility of green procurement practices across North America; and

n Share attributes, procurement techniques, life cycle and 

market information, and information related to the means 

of measuring both the environmental and economic benefits of green products and services to build the capacity 

of government and non-government entities to purchase 

these products and services.

Green products and services have beneficial environmental and/or energy attributes, such as recycled 

content, energy efficiency, and no or low amounts 

of hazardous or toxic constituents, as well as, often, 

economic benefits. The NAFTA parties attach strong 

importance to the promotion of North American markets for green products and services and are committed 

to purchasing them and to promoting their use by all 

levels of governments and non-government entities. 

Applying environmental decisions to even a fraction of 

the one trillion dollar annual North American procurement market would stimulate the demand for green 

products and services and achieve significant environmental benefits. 

There are a number of obstacles that prevent growth of 

the North American green procurement market such as 

a need to share information about: successful procurement techniques, including energy or environmental 

attributes; market segments within and outside of the 

national governments; existing life cycle or cost benefit 

tools appropriate for purchasing a given product or 

service; and, government or third party certification 

opportunities. Also, there is no common baseline of 

energy and environmental attributes for a given product or service. 

Working together through the CEC, the Parties can 

overcome some of these obstacles and help grow the 

green procurement market across North America. 

Green purchasing
Projects will promote better use of market-based 

approaches to support environmental protection, 

conservation, and the sustainable use of biodiversity:

n Research and select areas/species or topics that will 

help identify possible green products and services;

n Facilitate identification and prioritization of products/

services for which viable markets for sustainablyproduced goods could be developed across North 

America;

n Enhance the availability and quality of information on 

best practices in using market-based and financial 

mechanisms for fostering sustainable use of resources; 

and 

n Analyze methods to harness emerging green market 

opportunities.

Conservationists are exploring methods to harness 

public-private partnerships, stewardship mechanisms, 

economic incentives and financial instruments to serve 

North America’s marine and terrestrial species and 

areas. The CEC’s work on shade grown coffee, sustainable palm and sustainable tourism are examples of 

applying market-based approaches to conservation. 

They demonstrate how the triple goals of sustainable 

land use, poverty alleviation, and economic and trade 

development can be mutually supportive. This priority 

area aims to build upon these successes in an effort to 

increase trade while achieving environmental protection and sustainability goals.

Market-based mechanisms for sustainable use
11

Projects will reduce the environmental and economic harm 

caused by invasive alien species (IAS) through greater coordination in the prevention, detection, analysis, and mitigation:

n Share methodologies and develop guidelines for assessing and communicating risks associated with aquatic 

IAS pathways;

n Develop strategies for public engagement in identification 

and mitigation measures;

n Encourage greater collaboration between and among civil 

society groups and governments in North America to prevent and control IAS; and

n Develop methods to better analyze the environmental and 

economic costs of IAS including determining how these 

costs are borne by specific geographic regions, ecosystems, industry sectors and governments.

The Parties face environmental and economic challenges 

due to the introduction, establishment, and spread of 

IAS. Many IAS pathways relate to international trade. 

While the Parties cooperate in a number of fora to 

address different aspects of IAS issues, gaps remain in 

their efforts to analyze and address this threat.

The CEC’s Biodiversity Conservation Working Group 

(BCWG) identified the threat of IAS as a significant 

concern for the Parties. It included IAS in its 2003 Biodiversity Strategic Plan as one of the 29 Priority Areas 

for Action. As a result, the CEC is currently conducting work in this area, and could continue to coordinate 

efforts to assess risks from aquatic pathways, consistent 

with the work of international standard setting bodies.

Cooperation with civil society groups and the general 

public can assist governments in their efforts to identify 

ecosystems where IAS are present and to design mitigation measures and policy responses. The CEC can play 

an important role in coordinating information sharing 

among civil society groups and governments at all levels.

More thorough and accurate analysis of the environmental and economic damages caused by IAS could also help 

the Parties prioritize efforts to combat IAS.

Invasive alien species
With this focused, results-oriented Strategic Plan, the 

10(6) Working Group hopes to help the CEC fully realize the environmental objectives of the NAAEC and 

the NAFTA, and to promote sustainable development 

based upon mutually supportive environmental and 

economic policies. The 10(6) Working Group commits itself to assessing on an ongoing basis whether the 

projects undertaken to implement this Strategic Plan 

are fulfilling the Plan’s goal and objectives. Ultimately, 

with greater coordination of the CEC, FTC, and the 

Parties’ trade and environment officials through the 

10(6) Working Group, the Parties should be in a better 

position to “anticipate—and thus to prevent—environmental problems associated with increased trade and 

economic development.”

Conclusion
13

Mindful of the multitude of specific projects that the 

CEC could undertake even within the six areas of 

focus and of the limited budget for such projects, the 

10(6) Working Group identified the following criteria 

to choose which specific projects to undertake, and to 

evaluate their progress.

Criteria 1: Required by NAAEC or relevant 

to its objectives

n Is the priority area or activity required by the 

NAAEC?

n If not explicitly required by the NAAEC, is the 

priority area or activity consistent with the objectives outlined in the NAAEC? 

n Does the priority area or activity promote collaboration, policy coherence and institutional 

coordination between the trade and environment 

communities in North America?

n Does the priority area or activity contribute to 

trade policy objectives?

Criteria 2: Builds on or contributes to CEC work

n Is the priority area or project likely to produce 

definable, measurable results or outcomes? 

n Does the priority area or activity build on the 

existing body of CEC work?

n Does the priority area or activity contribute 

to current or planned CEC activities in other 

priority areas? 

n Will the priority area or activity contribute to 

the capacity building pillar set out in the Puebla 

Declaration?

n Will the priority area or activity contribute to the 

information pillar set out in the Puebla Declaration?

Criteria 3: Leverages or catalyzes work by others

n Will the priority area or activity catalyze the 

development of an idea, project, activity or 

process that others will want to take over after a 

clearly delineated development period?

n Will the priority area or project facilitate coordination, cooperation, communication and development of partnerships among the Parties and 

with key international organizations and stakeholders, as appropriate?

n Will the priority area or project leverage funds?

Criteria 4: Responds to stakeholders

n Does the priority area or project respond to 

JPAC, TRAC or stakeholder recommendations?

Annex: Project criteria
Commission for Environmental Cooperation

393, rue St-Jacques Ouest, bureau 200

Montreal (Quebec) Canadá H2Y 1N9 

info@cec.org

http://www.cec.org