such as ash residue from coal scrubbers, abandoned mines, pharmaceuticals, and microplastics, are increasing and pose threats to human health and ecosystems.


In recent years environmental challenges have emerged that are proving harder to manage within existing policy frameworks


Climate change is generating impacts across the region that affect diverse aspects of the environment as well as human health and well-being and, in some cases, human security. The potential for these impacts to worsen in both the near and long term is a priority issue for the region. However, the administrations of both countries are taking steps to mitigate impacts and adapt to those that are unavoidable. The US and Canada have agreed the two countries will play leadership roles internationally in the low carbon global economy over the coming decades, including through science-based steps to protect the Arctic and its peoples, as well as, working together to implement the historic Paris Agreement.


The Arctic is an area of special concern because climate change impacts are most pronounced in the high latitudes, and the risk of further significant change in the near term is growing. The Arctic’s unique social, institutional, and ecological patterns make it highly vulnerable to continued climate change, especially in light of the difficulties it faces with regard to adaptation, which will trigger cascading risks.


The energy system is undergoing rapid changes, providing challenges and opportunities. Challenges arise from the externalities associated with aggressive hydrocarbon extraction methods.


These externalities include the


potential for increased air emissions, water use and induced seismicity. However, ongoing trends in renewable energy, rising efficiencies, and energy storage technologies are driving opportunities and demonstrating the potential to achieve a sustainable energy system.


New chemical contaminants and new sources of traditional pollutants are manifesting as emerging air and water quality problems that are of concern for public health and the environment.


Water scarcity is of increasing concern in the region. Water demand exceeds sustainable supply in the arid western areas of North America resulting in mining of aquifers, fragmentation and regulation of most western rivers through dams, and vulnerability of urban and rural communities to drought. Depletion of groundwater is exacerbated by a lack of groundwater governance mechanisms. Long-term droughts have accelerated water scarcity problems in some parts of the region, and climate change has most likely contributed to the severity, extent and duration of these droughts.


The coastal and marine environment is under increasing threat in the region, both from harmful trends regarding some traditional environmental pressures such as nutrient loads, as well as new pressures such as ocean acidification, ocean warming, sea level rise, and novel forms of marine debris.


Freshwater fisheries are well-regulated in the Great Lakes region and are generally controlled across North America, but face challenges due to factors such as climate change, population pressure, and pollution.


Solutions to environmental challenges in the region are emerging


Efforts to mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing carbon sequestration are beginning to show tangible results and to create a foundation for potentially major advances. Mitigation successes derive from a wide range of measures across the federal, regional and local levels of government and across the public and private sectors, including energy efficiency product standards; low-carbon electricity generation; transportation plans; building codes and standards; and other efforts. The December 2015 Paris climate agreement created a mechanism for all countries to coordinate national efforts and set more ambitious targets moving forward.


At the same time, governments, business and communities are taking action to adapt to climate change. For instance,


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