On Thursday, US President Barack Obama welcomed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada to the Oval Office for a state visit as the two leaders sought to take joint steps in combatting climate change.
The two leaders issued a joint statement outlining steps which will reduce methane emissions from the gas and oil sector. By 2025, both Obama and Trudeau aim to reduce emissions by 40 to 45 percent, CBC reported. Emissions from existing and new gas and oil sources in the US and Canada will now be regulated.
Gina McCarthy, EPA's administrator, said new opportunities to better protect the environment for the future will be 'unlocked' as the two nations unite to fight against climate change particularly methane emissions. Reuters reported that methane leaks from valves and pipelines are a harmful greenhouse gas, which has up to 80 times the potential of carbon dioxide to trap Earth's heat.
"If we don't agree, if we're not aggressive ... then other countries won't step up," Obama said.
The US and Canada are also seeking to improve relations after President Obama rejected the Keystone XL pipeline last year, which was targeted at transporting loaded Canadian oil to the US. Environmentalists had long opposed the Keystone project, which had been under review by the White House for years. According to Bloomberg, Obama and Trudeau are also collaborating in overseeing the Arctic, including taking unspecified 'concrete steps' to protect at least 10 percent of its water and at least 17 percent of its land.
The US Environmental Protection Agency or EPA has started developing policies on the southern part of the border that will regulate and start a process to require companies to provide necessary information about their methane emissions. Meanwhile, the Environment Canada said they will push the move 'as expeditiously as possible' to put into effect national regulations in partnership with the provinces, territories and stakeholders. Reports also say that the department intends to publish an initial phase of proposed regulations by early 2017.
