North America's Energy Market: Aligning Policies and Managing Carbon

Vancouver, Canada, will play host to discussions on coordination of North American energy policies and carbon capture and storage at a conference organized by the Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC) of the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC).

Industry leaders and experts will explore issues related to public energy policies and regional energy markets. As an illustration of the conflicts that can arise when public policies are not compatible between countries, a discussion panel will review market restrictions in place in the US state of California as they relate to its definition of renewable energy, which could affect exports of certain types of hydroelectric power, including from the province of British Columbia.

An afternoon panel will focus on the opportunities and challenges for carbon capture and storage in North America.

The entire event will be webcast live, with an online discussion forum on the CEC's website available before the event. Follow-up discussions and links to conference presentations will be added shortly after. The JPAC has begun making extensive use of electronic tools such Facebook and video broadcasts to ensure citizens in Canada, Mexico and the United States, regardless of location or language, have access to timely, incisive, and balanced discussion on North American environmental issues.

"Public discussion of a low-carbon economy and how to achieve it is vital to ensuring North American environmental sustainability," noted Glen Wright, JPAC Chair for 2010. He added that JPAC will host similar public events this year in development of specific recommendations to the CEC's Council, the top environmental authorities in North America's three countries.