Joint statement on the fourth meeting of the Environment Committee of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement

December 16, 2025

VIRTUAL - On December 11, 2025, the Environment Committee (“the Committee”) of the U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement (“the Agreement”) held its fourth meeting. The Committee was established pursuant to the Agreement to oversee the implementation of the Environment Chapter and to provide a forum to discuss and review the Chapter’s implementation.

During the meeting, the Parties highlighted their respective efforts to implement their Environment Chapter commitments, including actions to strengthen environmental protections and enforce environmental laws. The United States emphasized recent policies and practices to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and wildlife trafficking. Mexico underscored its commitment to sustainable forest management, the expansion of Protected Areas, strengthening environmental legislation, and reinforcing actions to protect air quality and the ozone layer. Canada discussed creating the conditions for the investment needed to build an affordable net-zero future.

The Parties also shared updates on their respective work on Environmental Crime Convergence, which is the intersection of environmental crime with other crimes such as human smuggling, drug trafficking, and money laundering. In addition, they outlined efforts to address Marine Litter, highlighting the regional cooperation needed to achieve their objectives. The Committee affirmed the importance of cooperative activities to amplify efforts to implement Chapter commitments.

The Committee also received a presentation from the Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation on current priorities, including the development of a Strategic Plan for 2026-2030, as well as an update on active Submissions on Enforcement Matters.  

The Committee’s discussion highlighted a good foundation for the future of North American trade integration and environmental cooperation, noting both the challenges and the opportunities for the region.

The Committee meeting was followed by a virtual public session whereby the Parties summarized the outcomes of the meeting, presented on the outcomes of the Five-year review of the Chapter, which was completed in June 2025, and answered the public’s questions pursuant to the Environment Chapter.