Statement by the Canadian and United States Co-Chairs Following the Meeting of the Bilateral Working Group on Climate Change

Following is the text of a joint statement released by the U.S. and Canadian Co-chairs following the meeting of the Bilateral Working Group on Climate Change in Ottawa on April 15, 2004. Dr. Harlan Watson, U.S. Department of State Senior Climate Negotiator and Special Representative, led the U.S. delegation. Mr. Alex Manson, Director General of the Climate Change Bureau of Environment Canada and Dr. Sushma Gera, Acting Director, Climate Change and Energy Division of Foreign Affairs Canada, led the Canadian delegation.

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On April 15, 2004, the governments of Canada and the United States convened the Bilateral Working Group on Climate Change in Ottawa. The Working Group was established in December 2002 to expand and intensify existing bilateral efforts to address global climate change. The objectives of the meeting were to review progress and note recent and planned developments and to explore future areas of cooperation.

Mr. Alex Manson, Director General of the Climate Change Bureau of Environment Canada, Dr. Sushma Gera, Acting Director, Climate Change and Energy Division of Foreign Affairs Canada, and Dr. Harlan Watson, Senior Climate Negotiator and Special Representative of the U.S. Department of State, led the respective delegations.

The Canadian team included experts from the Departments of Agriculture and Agri-Foods, Environment, Fisheries and Oceans, Foreign Affairs, Natural Resources, and Transportation, and the Canadian International Development Agency. The U.S. team included experts from the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Commerce (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), Energy, State, and Transportation, and the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Science Foundation, and Kansas State University.

The two sides reviewed ongoing cooperative activities as identified in the joint inventory of bilateral activities established in May 2003 in the areas of: Emissions Measurement, Reporting, Baselines and Accounting; Energy R&D related to Climate Change; Energy Efficiency; Vehicles; Science, Impacts and Adaptation; Biological Sequestration; and, Developing Countries.

To expand upon the existing 60-plus activities of bilateral cooperation, Canadian and U.S. representatives held discussions on renewable energy, greenhouse gas mitigation technologies, transportation, agricultural greenhouse gas mitigation, modeling extreme weather events, impacts and adaptation research, and carbon cycle research.

Canadian and U.S. representatives agreed to publicly release the current inventory of joint activities on climate change within the coming weeks. Additionally, the two delegations acknowledged the recently signed Statement of Common Interest and Intent to Work Together between the respective scientific communities supporting or conducting carbon cycle research in the U.S. and Canada. It will expand cooperation in the development of integrated carbon cycle research, building toward a coordinated North American Carbon Program.

Canadian and U.S. participants agreed to continue to hold periodic meetings to ensure continued close cooperation in addressing climate change. The U.S. will host the next meeting of the Working Group to be held in Washington later in 2004.