Event
23rd Regular Session of the CEC Council and Meetings of the Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC)
Where:
Hotel Hyatt Regency Mérida
Avenida Colón esq. Calle 60, Centro
C.P. 97000
Mérida, Yucatán,
Mexico
When:
8 and 9 September, 2016
Registration is now closed.
On 8–9 September 2016, Rafael Pacchiano Alamán, Mexico’s Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, will host United States Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy and Canada’s Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna, in Mérida, Yucatán, at the 23rd annual Regular Session of the Council of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) of North America.
Prior to the Council meeting, on 8 September, JPAC will host a public forum on biodiversity and climate change, with invited experts from the three countries. JPAC is composed of 15 citizens, five from each country. It advises the Council and ensures public participation, openness and transparency in the actions of the CEC. For more information, visit <www.cec.org/JPAC>.
Program of Public Events
Agenda - 8-9 September 2016
Thursday, 8 September 2016
This JPAC public forum will look at the impacts of climate change on biodiversity from an environmental and economic perspective. Participants convening in-person and via webcast will also consider the vital contribution biodiversity makes to climate change mitigation and adaptation. They will also have the opportunity to discuss ecosystem-based adaptation solutions.
Registration of Participants
Regency Foyer
Opening and Introductory Remarks
by Lindsay Brumwell, JPAC Chair
Regency I and II
- Introduction of JPAC members, special guests, etc.
- Role and general, short history of JPAC
- Overview of public session theme
CEC Presentation
by César Rafael Chávez, CEC Executive Director
- Overview of CEC’s current work on Ecosystems and Climate Change
Keynote Presentation: Ecosystems and Climate Change: A two-way relationship
by Santiago Lorenzo, Global Expert – Climate Finance, WWF International
Break
Roundtable Discussion I: Mainstreaming the impacts of climate change on biodiversity
Regency I and II
This session will address the questions: What are the impacts of climate change on biodiversity in North America from an environmental and economic perspective? How can mainstreaming climate change reduce these impacts?
Moderator: Felicia Marcus, JPAC member
Speakers:
- Martín Cadena Salgado, Coordinator: Project Resilience, Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas (Conanp) – UNDP
- Chris Field, Director, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment & Katharine Mach, Senior Research Associate, Carnegie Science Department of Global Ecology, Stanford University
- Aerin Jacob, Liber Ero Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria
Moderated Question and Answer Period
with experts, JPAC members and audience
Break
Roundtable Discussion II: Mainstreaming the contribution of biodiversity towards climate change mitigation and adaptation
This session will address the questions: What is the contribution of biodiversity to climate change mitigation and adaptation? How can mainstreaming biodiversity benefit climate change mitigation and adaptation initiatives?
Moderator: Adriana Nelly Correa, JPAC member
Speakers:
- Sylvie de Blois, Associate Professor, Department of Plant Science, McGill University
- Nélida Barajas Acosta, Coordinator of International Affairs COP13, Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad (Conabio)
- Louis Blumberg, Director, California Climate Change Program, The Nature Conservancy
Moderated Question and Answer Period
with experts, JPAC members and audience
Lunch [provided]
Restaurant Peregrina Bistro
Workshop on Emerging Scientific Research Relating to Ecosystem-based Adaptation
Regency I and II
This workshop will examine emerging research on ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA), i.e., conservation and restoration of natural ecosystems as strategy for adapting to negative effects of climate change at multiple geographic levels. Audience response, comments, and questions will be invited.
Chair: Eric Dannenmaier, JPAC member
Speakers:
- Rachel Gittman - Living shorelines: Are we designing functional, sustainable, and resilient coasts?
- Aimee McGowan - Blue Carbon
Break
Update on Submissions on Enforcement Matters
Report from the National and Governmental Advisory Committee Representatives
Closing Remarks and Session Adjournment
by Lindsay Brumwell, JPAC Chair
Break
Travel to Welcoming Reception
Official Opening of the 23rd Regular Session of the Council and Welcoming Reception
Salón de la Historia, Palacio de Gobierno, and Quinta Montes Molina
- Welcoming remarks by the Governor of the State of Yucatan, Rolando Zapata Bello
- Introductory remarks by César Rafael Chávez, CEC Executive Director
- Remarks by Lindsay Brumwell, Chair of the CEC Joint Public Advisory Committee
- Remarks by Gina McCarthy, Administrator, United States (US) Environmental Protection Agency
- Remarks by Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada
- Welcoming remarks and Opening of the 23rd Regular Session of the Council by Rafael Pacchiano Alamán, Mexican Secretary for Environment and Natural Resources
Friday, 9 September 2016
This year’s Council session will focus on the role of youth within the work of the CEC, in particular, on ecosystems and climate change, and supporting sustainable communities.
The 9 September Council meeting will include a public town hall session on these topics, featuring the three environment ministers, CEC Executive Director César Rafael Chávez, and CEC Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC) Chair Lindsay Brumwell. During the Town Hall, the Council will answer questions from the public in-person and online through social media.
Registration of Participants
Hotel Lobby
Welcome/Opening Remarks
Regency I and II
Presentation on the Biodiversity Strategy for the State of Yucatán
by Eduardo Batllori Sampedro, Secretary of Urban Development and Environment of the State of Yucatán
Networking Session for the Public: Youth and the environment in North America
Participants are invited to meet and exchange views on the topic of “Youth and the environment in North America,” and identify three key questions concerning our region to be raised with the Ministers. They will appoint three representatives, one per country, who will make a brief intervention during the Council Town Hall that will take place in the afternoon.
CEC Exhibition
Regency Foyer
Lunch [provided]
Restaurant Peregrina Bistro
Council Public Meeting
Regency I, II and III
- Welcome introduction by the Council
- Report from the Executive Director on the Operational Plan 2015–2016
- Progress from Boston to Mérida. What’s next?
Break
Council Town Hall
Regency I, II and III
- Parties’ Presentation: Youth and the environment in North America
- Q&A on youth and the environment in North America
- Photo contest winners
Council Session Closing
- Council Ministerial Statement
- Signing of Council Resolution and Ministerial Statement
- Closing Remarks by Administrator Gina McCarthy
- Concluding Remarks and Passing the Torch by Secretary Rafael Pacchiano Alamán
- New Council Chair and Announcement of 2017 Council Session by Minister Catherine McKenna