Creation of North American climate group

Greg Rickford, Canada's Minister of Natural Resources; Ernest J. Moniz, United States Secretary of Energy; and Pedro Joaquín-Coldwell, Mexico Secretary of Energy, have declared the establishment of the North American Energy Ministers' Working Group on Climate Change and Energy.

Mérida in Mexico hosted the third meeting between the North American energy leaders during which the announcement took place. After the creation of the group, Canada, the United States and Mexico will highlight partnership in the following areas:

• reliable, resilient and low-carbon electricity grids;
• the modelling and deployment of clean energy technologies, including renewables;
• energy efficiency for equipment, appliances, industries and buildings, including energy management systems;
• carbon capture, use and storage;
• climate change adaptation and resilience; and
• emissions from the oil and gas sector, including methane and black carbon.

Improved continental cooperation on energy and the environment was announced in December 2014 focusing on the following areas:

• developing North American energy public data, statistics and the continental mapping of commodities and infrastructure;
• responsible and sustainable best practices for the development of unconventional oil and natural gas; and
• modern, resilient energy infrastructure for North America in all aspects — physical infrastructure as well as institutional infrastructure such as policies, regulations, workforce, innovation, practices to promote energy-efficient goods and services, and sustainable technologies.

Work in these areas is now in the advanced stages. In discussions with his counterparts, Minister Rickford highlighted Canada's growing contribution to global energy security and its commitment to pursuing a continental approach on energy security and climate change.

Adapted from press release by Joseph Green

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/exploration/26052015/north-american-energy-ministers-continental-climate-835/