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Published in Summer 2001
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Winnipeg workshop on greening trade corridors
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The discussion of the Commission’s role in promoting seamless air-quality management along the major international trade corridors of North America was launched in Winnipeg on 15 March 15 2001. Over 100 people attended, representing federal, provincial, state and local governments, the transportation industry, public interest groups, academia, and other interested parties (including a contingent of six local eighth-grade students).
The Honorable Lloyd Axworthy, formerly Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, delivered the keynote address, setting the stage for the day’s discussions on linkages between public health, the environment and the flow of goods across North America.
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A study presented by ICF Consulting, North American Trade and Transportation Corridors: Environmental Impacts and Mitigation Strategies,
provided the basis of the workshop discussion. It focuses on five cross-border segments of North American trade corridors: Vancouver-Seattle, Winnipeg-Fargo, Toronto-Detroit, San Antonio-Monterrey, and Tucson-Hermosillo.
The study projects that by 2020, trade-related emissions of CO2, a greenhouse gas, will increase by two to four times over current levels in the five corridors examined. At the same time, overall trade-related emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and fine particulate matter (PM10) are anticipated to decline or stabilize at current levels, despite a projected increase in trade, as stricter standards for heavy-duty truck engines and the use of low-sulfur diesel fuel, planned for Canada and the US, come into effect.
A panel of experts and members of the audience offered comments and critiques to the study’s authors aimed at refining the discussion paper’s assumptions and future projections of air-quality impacts.
A number of speakers presented experiences with clean technology transportation projects, examples of “best practices” involving the public in corridor planning, and innovative initiatives to develop transportation alternatives.
The workshop was followed by a six-week comment period. The Commission and the authors of the discussion paper are reviewing comments received and updating the discussion paper as needed. Together, the workshop and comments have provided the Commission with valuable public input that it will rely on in refining its future efforts on green trade and transportation corridors.
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