Environmental and Public Interest Considerations in NAFTA Renegotiation

The document argues that the renegotiated NAFTA should move beyond the 'soft legal obligations' seen in agreements like CETA and the TPP to establish stronger, enforceable environmental protections. It specifically advocates for the legal recognition that water is not a commodity, the preservation and strengthening of the submissions on enforcement matters (SEM) process for civil society, and the expansion of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) to include regulatory cooperation on climate change mitigation and carbon border adjustments.

• The author argues that the environmental chapters of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the draft Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) are insufficient models for NAFTA because they feature "high aspirations, soft legal obligations and modest enforcement mechanisms" and lack the inclusive public participation standards previously set by the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC).
• To protect water rights, the new NAFTA should explicitly affirm that water is not a commodity and legally integrate the right of governments to provide public services and bring previously privatized water services back under public control, rather than leaving such protections in non-binding guidelines.
• The submissions on enforcement matters (SEM) process, which allows North American residents to report failures to enforce environmental laws, should be strengthened and preserved; replacing it with the domestic-level consultation mechanisms found in CETA or the TPP would eliminate a "unique tool built into the NAAEC for environmental transparency and accountability."
• The existing state-to-state environmental dispute system is deemed ineffective because states rarely bring disputes against each other; the author suggests the new NAFTA should open dispute resolution mechanisms to non-state actors to avoid the system remaining "merely textual."
• The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) should be renewed as a forum for regulatory cooperation, with a mandate to share emissions data, identify environmental goods and services, and develop methodologies for calculating carbon border adjustments.
• The author asserts that the CEC could be leveraged to monitor regional black carbon and methane emissions and improve North American disaster risk preparedness, including the resilience of coastal and marine transport infrastructures.

APA

Khan, S. A. (2017). Environmental and Public Interest Considerations in NAFTA Renegotiation. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/environmental-public-interest-nafta-renegotiations.pdf

Chicago

Khan, Sabaa A. Environmental and Public Interest Considerations in NAFTA Renegotiation. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2017. https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/environmental-public-interest-nafta-renegotiations.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Khan |first1=Sabaa A. |title=Environmental and Public Interest Considerations in NAFTA Renegotiation |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=2017 |url=https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/environmental-public-interest-nafta-renegotiations.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{khan2017environmental, author = {Khan, Sabaa A.}, title = {{Environmental and Public Interest Considerations in NAFTA Renegotiation}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2017}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/environmental-public-interest-nafta-renegotiations.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }