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.
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).
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 […]
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.
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).
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 […]
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.
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.
Modeling carbon (C) in Mexican forest ecosystems using process-based models is an important contribution to a methodology and protocol for assessing North American forest carbon dynamics, sponsored by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation and carried out by the Forest Services of Canada, USA, and Mexico, and their partner organizations.
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.
Updated October 2014: Action Plan to Enhance the Comparability of Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs) in North America
This edition of the Taking Stock report examines the data on pollutant releases and transfers reported by industrial facilities from 2005 through 2010 to the three pollutant release and transfer registers (PRTRs) of North America: Canada’s National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI); Mexico’s Registro de Emisiones y Transferencia de Contaminantes (RETC); and the US Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). It provides details about specific pollutants, how they were managed, and the sectors and facilities reporting them over time and across North America.
