NAFTA Rewrite Must Include Climate Pledge

WASHINGTON  – The Natural Resources Defense Council today told Congress that it should withhold a vote for the reworked North American Free Trade Agreement unless it is amended to include a pledge that each of the three nations will adhere to the Paris climate accord, among other baseline environmental criteria.

The following is a statement from Amanda Maxwell, director of the Latin America Project at NRDC:

“Renegotiating NAFTA gave the U.S., Mexico, and Canada a historic opportunity to correct the old agreement’s failures on the environment and to address climate change. Unfortunately, the reworked pact falls short on both counts.

“Before Congress votes on this amended agreement, it should insist that the three nations include upholding the Paris climate accord as part of the pact. The revised pact recognizes other environmental treaties; there’s no reason it should ignore the greatest environmental challenge facing our planet.”

For more on this issue, see these new blogs:

Amanda Maxwell, director, Latin America Project: https://www.nrdc.org/experts/amanda-maxwell/new-nafta-must-address-climate-change
Dan West, legislative advocate: https://www.nrdc.org/experts/dan-west/deal-century-tie-usmca-paris

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The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.​