Bilateral arrangement - United States - Transports Canada

Transport Canada and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) have pledged to reinvigorate bilateral cooperation to limit the environmental impacts from all transport modes to limit greenhouse gases and climate change.

Omar Alghabra, Canada’s Minister of Transport, and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg issued the statement pledging to work together. The pledge is to “build back better” from the COVID-19 pandemic and leverage action at state/provincial and local government levels to achieve significant GHG reductions on the way to zero-emission transport for land, air and water modes.

Both countries vowed to work towards achieving the IMO’s call to halve ship emissions by 2050 compared to 2008 levels. “We will continue to support the development of green transport infrastructure along the border, including in our management of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway for maritime navigation,” the statement related.

The commitment includes working to advance cleaner, sustainable and renewable fuels for shipping, while also working with the IMO to implement the ban on heavy fuel oil use in the Arctic. Another objective is to support the transportation infrastructure needs of Arctic and Northern communities.

Bilateral cooperation will extend to significantly reducing the GHG emissions from light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles through ambitious new standards, improved fuel efficiency and ultimately zero-emission models with incentivized electric recharging stations. Aviation is also the subject of cleaner fuels and net zero-emission technologies by 2050.