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

This briefing by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) evaluates the environmental record of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and its side agreement, the North American Agreement for Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC). It examines the role of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) in generating environmental data and managing shared ecosystems, while critiquing the effectiveness of the citizen submission process. The document concludes by proposing seven options for the environmental framework of a renegotiated NAFTA, ranging from maintaining the status quo to integrating provisions from the TPP or CETA.

• The North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) 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's work contributed to specific pollution mitigation successes, such as supporting the phase-out of DDT in Mexico in 2000 and addressing risks from PCBs, mercury, lindane, and chlordane.
• The 'Submissions of Enforcement Matters' (citizen submission process) was an innovative attempt to give citizens a voice in environmental enforcement, but it is widely viewed as flawed due to a lack of independence and a slow, opaque decision-making process.
• Assessments of NAFTA's trade-induced environmental impacts identified specific negative outcomes, including increased air pollution at border crossings due to Mexico-U.S. truck transport and a rise in alien invasive species.
• A 2004 ten-year review concluded that the CEC was a unique and important institution that fostered regional environmental awareness and improved biodiversity cooperation, although it lacked meaningful cooperation with the NAFTA Free Trade Commission.
• The author proposes several options for a new NAFTA environmental model, including adopting provisions from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) regarding the Montreal Protocol and MARPOL, or using the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) as a model for the right to regulate and sustainable forest products.

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} }