North America’s Blue Carbon: Assessing Seagrass, Salt Marsh and Mangrove Distribution and Carbon Sinks
Blue carbon denotes the long-term storage of carbon within plant habitats growing in coastal lands and near-shore marine environments. North American blue carbon habitats—seagrass, salt marsh, and mangrove—were assessed to determine their spatial distribution and to document these sinks of blue carbon. Maps of habitat distributions on the coasts of Canada, Mexico and the United States were collected, verified and compiled to create the first continent-wide areal assessment of blue carbon.
Integrated Modeling and Assessment of North American Forest Carbon Dynamics Technical Report
The forests of North America play an important role in the global greenhouse gas balance by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, storing it in forest ecosystems and in products manufactured from harvested wood, and providing society with wood for construction, energy and other uses. The objective of this project was to improve and harmonize methods for assessing changes in carbon stocks and causes of change, among the three countries of North America, and to develop tools for the estimation, reporting and projection of past and future forest greenhouse gas balances as affected by natural disturbances, forest management, and land-use change.
Reducing Air Pollution at Land Ports of Entry: Recommendations for Canada, Mexico and the United States
Increased traffic at North American land ports of entry (POEs) associated with transportation of goods affects air quality in border communities and beyond. In its 2013–2014 Operational Plan, the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) has provided support for researching and developing viable, integrated options for the implementation of vehicle emission-reduction mechanisms at selected land POEs.
Improving Green Building Construction in North America
Environmental impacts of buildings and the costs of construction projects can be significantly reduced through the use of an integrated design, delivery and operations process. The definition and application of this building approach, however, varies widely across industry sectors and regulatory jurisdictions in North America. This guide, which draws on the 2013 report by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), Improving Conditions for Green Building Construction in North America: Enhancing Capabilities of the Green Workforce, outlines five main steps for success in implementing an integrated design and delivery process.
Enhancing Trilateral Understanding of Flame Retardants and Their Use in Manufactured Items
Flame retardants are chemical compounds that exhibit properties that prevent or delay the development of flames in items manufactured for use in indoor settings. These chemical compounds can either chemically react or physically bind to the components of manufactured items, such as plastics, textiles, and coatings—which pose a risk of spreading flames.
Enhancing Trilateral Understanding of Flame Retardants and Their Use in Manufactured Items
Canada, Mexico, and the United States, in their roles as Parties to the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), have taken a common interest in carrying out a case study to better understand the presence of 16 emerging flame retardants in consumer products. As a result, a project entitled Enhancing Trilateral Understanding of Flame Retardants and Their Use in Manufactured Items (CEC 2014) is being supported under the CEC’s Operational Plan 2013–2014, through a project team consisting of representative members from the CEC Secretariat, Health Canada (HC), Environment Canada (EC), Instituto Nacional de Ecología y Cambio Climático (INECC) under the Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (Semarnat), and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Close-out Report: North American Regional Action Plan on Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
This report represents the close-out report for the North American Regional Action Plan (NARAP) on Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (EMA) of the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). It provides an overview of the objectives and action items contemplated under this NARAP, highlights the results achieved, and draws conclusions about the success of this […]
Framework Document for a North American Bus and Heavy-duty Truck Sector Partnership
The CEC’s Improving the Economic and Environmental Performance of the North American Truck and Bus Manufacturing Supply Chainproject aims to create a foundation for North American public-private collaboration within the bus and heavy-duty truck manufacturing sector, similar to the Suppliers Partnership for the Environment (SP) and Alianza Verde Automotriz (AVA) for the North American automotive manufacturing sector.
Environmentally Sound Management of End-of-Life Batteries from Electric-Drive Vehicles in North America
The market for electric-drive vehicles (EDVs), including hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), and electric, pure battery-powered vehicles (EVs), is expected to experience significant and rapid growth over the coming decades. In the year 2013 all EDVs together represent about 1.44 percent of annual vehicle sales in Canada, about 0.09 percent in Mexico and about 3.81 percent in the US, and numbers are expected to grow rapidly in the coming years. As the market for EDVs expands, there will be a vital opportunity to recapture and recycle the materials used in EDV batteries (nickel, cobalt, steel and other valuable components) once they reach end of life (EOL).
North American Ranching Industries, Beef Cattle Trade, and Grasslands: Status and Trends
These sets of infographics stem from CEC-funded efforts to chronicle recent trends in the North American cattle ranching industry and beef cattle trade, and the grasslands that support these vital sectors. Experts compiled data from Canada, Mexico and the United States according to an agreed-upon set of variables and procedures, including the use of common […]
North American Black Carbon Emissions
These guidelines are intended to provide a consistent methodology for developing black carbon inventories among the United States, Mexico and Canada, in order to improve cross-border comparisons and mitigation assessments. They are based on an extensive literature review and comparative evaluation of black carbon and underlying particulate matter emission inventory methods, resulting in a series of initial recommendations for “best practice” approaches.
Greenhouse Gas Offset Methodology Criteria for Tidal Wetland Conservation
This document supports the development of a global greenhouse gas (GHG) offset methodology for tidal wetland conservation. The Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) provides a set of requirements which projects must meet before offsets are issued. The requirements for wetlands projects include determining the baseline scenario and anticipated GHG emissions, setting the project boundary, determining additionality, quantifying project GHG emissions and reductions, establishing the permanence of GHG emission reductions, and others.