North American Energy Ministers Establish New Continental Climate Change and Energy Collaboration

MÉRIDA, Mexico, May 25, 2015 /CNW/ - The Honourable Greg Rickford, Canada's Minister of Natural Resources; Ernest J. Moniz, United States Secretary of Energy; and Pedro Joaquín-Coldwell, Mexico Secretary of Energy, today announced the creation of the North American Energy Ministers' Working Group on Climate Change and Energy.

Today's announcement took place during the third official meeting of North American energy leaders in Mérida, Mexico. With today's milestone, Canada, the United States and Mexico will prioritize collaboration in the following areas:

• reliable, resilient and low-carbon electricity grids;
• the modelling and deployment of clean energy technologies, including renewables;
• energy efficiency for equipment, appliances, industries and buildings, including energy management systems;
• carbon capture, use and storage;
• climate change adaptation and resilience; and
• emissions from the oil and gas sector, including methane and black carbon.

Today's milestone builds on previous enhanced continental cooperation on energy and the environment announced in December 2014:

• developing North American energy public data, statistics and the continental mapping of commodities and infrastructure;
• responsible and sustainable best practices for the development of unconventional oil and natural gas; and
• modern, resilient energy infrastructure for North America in all aspects — physical infrastructure as well as institutional infrastructure such as policies, regulations, workforce, innovation, practices to promote energy-efficient goods and services, and sustainable technologies.

Work in these areas is now in the advanced stages. In discussions with his counterparts, Minister Rickford highlighted Canada's growing contribution to global energy security and its commitment to pursuing a continental approach on energy security and climate change.

North America is seizing every opportunity to harmonize efforts and policies toward common climate goals while protecting jobs and the economy.

Quick Facts

• Last December, during their first meeting in Washington, D.C., the ministers signed a Memorandum of Understanding formalizing trilateral cooperation for greater cooperation and integration with the goal of attaining North American energy security.
• Canada and the U.S. have already harmonized environmental standards ranging from vehicle emissions to home energy efficiency.
• In 2013, Canada's GHG emissions were 3.1 percent lower than 2005 levels while the economy grew by 12.9 percent over the same time period.
• Between 2005 and 2014, Canadian crude exports increased by 81 percent, and Canada has begun supplying oil to eight new markets including Italy, the United Kingdom, Norway, France, Spain and Ireland.
• Canada is the fifth-largest natural gas producer in the world, with marketable resources of up to 44 trillion cubic metres. Canada has the third-largest reserves of crude oil in the world, including 167 billion barrels in Canada's oil sands alone, and is the fifth-largest producer.

Quotes

"Canada is a secure, reliable and responsible producer and supplier of energy to the world and is firmly committed to a continental approach on energy and the environment. North America has deeply integrated economies, abundant reserves, shared critical infrastructure and common values that underpin our long, productive history of collaboration. The North American Free Trade Agreement is a good example of the integrated nature of our economy. By cooperating with our North American partners, we are enhancing energy security and the environment while strengthening jobs and the economy."

The Honourable Greg Rickford
Canada's Minister of Natural Resources

Associated Links

Joint News Release on New Continental Climate Change and Energy Collaboration

SOURCE Natural Resources Canada

Chris McCluskey, Director of Communications, Office of Canada's Minister of Natural Resources, 613-996-2007, or Media Relations, Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, 613-992-4447; The general public may contact: Mon.-Fri., 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. EDT, Telephone: [phone], E-mail: [email protected], Follow us on Twitter: @NRCan (http://twitter.com/nrcan), NRCan's news releases and backgrounders are available at www.nrcan.gc.ca/media