CEC Kicks Off Air Quality Awareness Week with Reflection on Impact of our Work
To celebrate Air Quality Awareness Week (May 3–7), we are releasing a report on the Long-term Impact Assessment of the CEC’s Work to Support AirNow-International (2010–2015).
AirNow-International (AirNow-I) is a system that allows government agencies and organizations to collect, process, exchange, and communicate air quality observations and forecasts in real-time. The CEC leveraged AirNow-I to make possible air quality data management and information-sharing across North America to improve the quality and public access to information on ambient air quality conditions.
Between 2010 and 2015, as part of a trilateral effort to promote healthy communities, this work supported Mexico’s efforts to connect its diverse air quality monitoring systems with the AirNow system used by Canada and the United States. Data can now be accessed on air quality conditions for locations across the three countries. Furthermore, this work served as the basis for the development of Mexico’s National Air Quality index in 2019.
This Long-term Impact Assessment found that CEC’s AirNow-I projects were highly successful and resulted in increased ambient air data quality reporting and comparability within and among Canada, Mexico and the United States and increased collaboration among experts in the three countries on air pollution and air quality monitoring and management.
Follow us on social media to learn more about North American air quality projects and initiatives throughout Air Quality Awareness Week!
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.