3 Amigo Summit: 50% electricity from clean energy by 2025
Canada, US, Mexico to focus on climate action at this week’s summit in Ottawa
The United States, Mexico and Canada are set to announce that 50 per cent of North America’s electricity will come from clean power sources by 2025 at the Three Amigos summit in Ottawa this week.
Currently 37 per cent of all of North America’s power comes from non emitting sources according to the State Department.
The 2025 targets are ambitious for the U.S. and Mexico. Currently only about 13 per cent of U.S. electricity comes from hydroelectricity or renewable energy sources like wind and solar, with another 19 per cent from nuclear. About 25 per cent of Mexico’s electricity is from non-fossil fuel producing sources, including nuclear.
The commitment is a big trade opportunity for Canada, which has a lot more clean power to spare, as 60 per cent of the country’s electricity comes from hydro and another 3 per cent from solar and wind. The amount of non-emitting power climbs to 81 per cent if nuclear-generated power is included. There will be a renewed emphasis on integrating the electricity grid between the three countries to allow this clean power to be moved easily across borders.
The PMO and State Department confirmed Mexico will also sign on to the same targets as the U.S. and Canada — reached during Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s visit to Washington in March — to reduce methane and short lived climate pollutants like black carbon and hydrofluorocarbon (HFC), a material used primarily in refrigeration.
Other highlights from PM’s official statement:
Promoting Clean and Efficient Transportation
We recognize that fully realizing the promise of an integrated North American transportation network will require joint action that will create clean jobs while reducing energy consumption, greenhouse gases, and air pollution.
Today, we commit to:
- accelerating deployment of clean vehicles in government fleets;
- working collaboratively with industry to encourage the adoption of clean vehicles by identifying initiatives to support consumer choice;
- encouraging public and private infrastructure investments to establish North American refueling corridors for clean vehicles;
- working to align applicable regulations, codes and standards where appropriate;
- fostering research, development, and demonstration activities for new clean technologies;
- convening industry leaders and other stakeholders by spring 2017 as part of a shared vision for a competitive and clean North American automotive sector.
