REGISTER NOW: How can we meet the challenge of building healthy, sustainable homes in remote and indigenous communities?
Commission for Environmental Cooperation and its Joint Public Advisory Committee to host public forum in Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico, 12–13 May 2014. The forum will be webcast live.
Montreal, 24 March 2014—Barriers to building healthy, sustainable homes remain a major concern for a number of remote communities in North America, as well as many indigenous communities. To discuss the opportunities and challenges faced by Canada, Mexico and the United States, the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) invites you to join a public forum featuring researchers, community leaders, government officials, and others impacted by this issue.
On 12–13 May 2014, in Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico, the CEC’s Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC) will host the meeting, Building Healthy and Sustainable Homes in Remote Communities: A Focus on Indigenous Communities in North America.
With the overall goal of providing recommendations on this important environmental justice issue to the CEC Council—North America’s highest-level environmental authorities—JPAC, invited experts, and stakeholders will explore the following issues:
- Barriers that limit the access to healthy and affordable homes and resources in remote communities;
- Air, energy and water: securing high quality and affordable resources in remote communities;
- Protecting communities most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change; and
- Financing for residential green building projects (new construction and retrofits) in remote communities.
This meeting is being held in collaboration with two CEC cooperative projects: Improving Conditions for Green Building Construction in North America, Improving Indoor Air Quality to Reduce Exposure to Airborne Contaminants in Alaskan Native Populations and Other Indigenous Communities in North America.
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.