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Promoting North American Collaboration on Clean Energy and Climate Change

At the North American Leaders' Summit in Guadalajara, Mexico, in August 2009, the leaders of Canada, the United States and Mexico together affirmed "the urgency and necessity of taking aggressive action on climate change."High levels of economic integration exist between these three countries. However, these strong economic ties have not yet translated into high levels of integration on climate and energy policy decisions and legislation. As a result, each country currently risks failing to capture the wider opportunities for environmental and economic progress or, alternately, underestimating the broader barriers to change.

Capacity to address clean energy and climate change in all three governments lacks depth. Today, resources and energy in the United States, Canada and Mexico are primarily focused on domestic legislation or international negotiations. As a result, actions such as those put forth in The North American Leaders' Declaration on Climate Change and Clean Energy and the Clean Energy Dialogue are not yet realizing their fullpotential.

To better understand existing dynamics and identify sustainable paths forward, the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the Pembina Institute have partnered to implement a project committed to the creation of a coherent policy approach to climate change and energy issues in North America. The three-year project, Clean Energy and Climate Action: A North American Collaborative, aims to:

• Deliver an ambitious and relevant joint policy framework outlining what Canada, the United States and Mexico can contribute and accomplish together to meet the clean-energy and climate change challenge.

• Leverage North American policy integration to encourage Canada to become a leader in climate change action.

Activities in the first year of the work program (2009–2010) include:

• A series of expert dialogues
  In 2009 five dialogue sessions were held in Canada, the United States and Mexico that aimed to provide regional perspectives on North American energy and climate issues. A summary (PDF - 520 KB) of the outcomes of these dialogue sessions is available.

• Side event at COP 15
  Addressing “Clean Energy and Climate Change Action in North America: A coordinated approach,” IISD and Pembina Institute's official side event in Copenhagen in December 2009 included a high-level panel discussion on the opportunities for and challenges of developing clean energy and climate change policy and action in North America. A report on the side event is available (PDF - 111 KB).

• Development of policy papers
  Policy papers on the following three critical issues are being prepared. Two draft papers are available for review and comment:

  1. North American energy relationships (PDF - 3.7 MB).
     This paper explores the energy relationships in North America and the implications for action on clean energy and climate change. It is intended to capture the state of debate on how energy production and the use of energy in North America will impact the design of policy responses to climate change and clean energy.

  2. Linking national cap-and-trade systems in North America (PDF - 1.6 MB).
     This paper will examine a variety of options for North American carbon pricing, ranging from two separate systems in the United States and Canada that recognize each others' allowances to a harmonized trilateral approach.

  3. A third policy paper will be available for review in February 2010:

     Carbon capture and storage in North America. This paper will provide a comparative assessment of the role of carbon capture and storage in Canada, the United States and Mexico and identify potential areas for collaboration.

An advisory group (PDF - 92 KB) of eight distinguished experts from across North America is providing strategic advice and direction on the work program for the project.

The first-year activities of the “Clean Energy and Climate Action: A North American collaboration” work program are supported by the McCall MacBain Foundation.

For more information about this project, please email Jessica Boyle.

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