Environmental Groups Oppose this Deal, Given Failure to Meet Basic Criteria

The document outlines why leading environmental groups oppose the NAFTA 2.0 deal, citing its failure to prevent pollution offshoring, its continued support for fossil fuel dependency, and the preservation of corporate rights to challenge environmental regulations.

• The NAFTA 2.0 deal fails to prevent the offshoring of pollution and jobs, as its environment chapter uses non-binding language that does not compel Mexico to raise environmental standards. This allows corporations to evade US policies by moving climate emissions and toxic pollution to Mexico.
• The agreement rolls back environmental protections by failing to reinforce seven Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs). It includes standard enforcement language for only one of these seven and removes a provision from the original NAFTA that prioritized environmental commitments over trade rules when in conflict.
• The deal maintains fossil fuel dependency by preserving a rule that prevents the US government from determining if gas exports to Mexico or Canada are in the public interest, which encourages fracking and gas pipeline expansion. While it removes the 'proportionality' rule regarding Canadian tar sands oil, it introduces new terms that lower the cost for oil corporations to export tar sands oil through US pipelines.
• Although the deal curtails some broad corporate rights, it grants full substantive rights under the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism to oil and gas corporations. This allows companies like ExxonMobil and Chevron to challenge environmental protections in Mexico.
• The agreement introduces binding 'regulatory cooperation' rules that allow corporations to challenge proposed environmental regulations before they are finalized or request that existing regulations be repealed.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2018). Environmental Groups Oppose this Deal, Given Failure to Meet Basic Criteria. https://www.ciel.org/news/new-nafta-threatens-air-water-climate/

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Environmental Groups Oppose this Deal, Given Failure to Meet Basic Criteria. 2018. https://www.ciel.org/news/new-nafta-threatens-air-water-climate/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Environmental Groups Oppose this Deal, Given Failure to Meet Basic Criteria |date=26 November 2018 |url=https://www.ciel.org/news/new-nafta-threatens-air-water-climate/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2018environmental, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Environmental Groups Oppose this Deal, Given Failure to Meet Basic Criteria}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2018}, month = nov, url = {https://www.ciel.org/news/new-nafta-threatens-air-water-climate/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }