A new report released by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), North American Outlook to 2030, identifies the major forces and underlying trends likely to shape the environment of North America in 2030. CEC noted nine areas to watch:
Greatest potential for impact by 2030
1. Energy use and associated emissions, especially from transportation and buildings
2. Water use and treatment of wastewater
Most significant coming changes
3. Continued and accelerated warming, especially in the Arctic
4. Continued loss of terrestrial biodiversity
5. Persistent ground-level ozone in urban areas
Issues deserving greater attention
6. Growth in urban and built-up land areas
7. Freshwater quality and groundwater availability and quality
8. The specific economic and health effects of environmental change
9. The impact of consumption in North America on the environment in other regions and vice versa
The CEC concludes in this new report that North America's environment will continue to be stressed due to many factors but that our choices today can influence environmental quality down the road in a positive way.
The CEC was established by Canada, Mexico and the United States to implement the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation, the environmental side accord to the North American Free Trade Agreement. The CEC supports cooperation among the NAFTA partners to address environmental issues of continental concern, including the environmental challenges and opportunities presented by continent-wide free trade. www.cec.org
The full report is available online at http://www.cec.org/outlook.