NAFTA’s Environmental Record: History, outcomes, impacts and options

The document evaluates the impact of NAFTA's environmental side agreement and the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), highlighting successes in data sharing and pollution mitigation alongside failures in the citizen submission process. It concludes by proposing seven options for the NAFTA renegotiations, ranging from maintaining the status quo to integrating modern sustainability standards from agreements like CETA or TPP.

• The North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) successfully created a comprehensive environmental database, including the North American Environmental Atlas, which allows for the tracking of transboundary pollution, migratory species, and habitats across the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
• The CEC contributed to tangible pollution mitigation, such as supporting the phase-out of DDT in Mexico in 2000 and reducing risks from PCBs, mercury, lindane, and chlordane.
• The 'Submissions of Enforcement Matters' (citizen submission process) is considered a flawed and contentious mechanism due to a lack of independence in the secretariat and a slow, opaque decision-making process controlled by the governments.
• Trade-induced environmental impacts identified by the CEC include increased air pollution at Mexico-U.S. border crossings due to truck transport, a rise in alien invasive species, and the creation of pollution havens.
• An OECD review identified Mexico as the largest beneficiary of the trilateral environmental cooperation, particularly regarding pollutant tracking systems and the DDT phase-out.
• The author proposes several options for a new NAFTA, including adopting the environment chapter from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) or the sustainability provisions of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), the latter of which includes the right to regulate and the removal of barriers to climate-related actions.

APA

Vaughan, S. (2017). NAFTA’s Environmental Record: History, outcomes, impacts and options. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/nafta-environmental-record-commentary.pdf

Chicago

Vaughan, Scott. NAFTA’s Environmental Record: History, outcomes, impacts and options. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2017. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/nafta-environmental-record-commentary.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Vaughan |first1=Scott |title=NAFTA’s Environmental Record: History, outcomes, impacts and options |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=June 2017 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/nafta-environmental-record-commentary.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{vaughan2017naftas, author = {Vaughan, Scott}, title = {{NAFTA’s Environmental Record: History, outcomes, impacts and options}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2017}, month = jun, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/nafta-environmental-record-commentary.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }