A renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) could result in a much stronger trade focus on fossil fuels, which would imply an increase in CO2 emissions and undermine previous efforts made by its three trade partners to lower emissions. Emilio Godoy explains. The original NAFTA agreement, in force since 1994 between Canada, Mexico and the United States, left out energy issues altogether, essentially because Mexico refused to open its energy sector to the North, at the time dominated by PEMEX (hydrocarbons) and CFE (electricity) state monopolies. NAFTA renegotiations talks began on August 16th in Washington DC. One of the issues now on the table is energy. Both the US and the Mexican governments and businesses have published their negotiation priorities and favor the prospect of opening the borders for energy trade. Renegotiations have a special focus on oil and gas, because the US has huge inventories that need access to new markets, and its companies have a growing interest to invest abroad. Mexico, on the other hand, lacks financial investments in its energy sector, … Continue reading NAFTA 2.0 – an avenue for more dirty energy