Canada-Mexico 2025–28 Plan Commits to Sustainability Cooperation

Following the visit of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to Mexico City on Sept. 18, where he met with President Claudia Sheinbaum, Canada and Mexico agreed to strengthen cooperation on a range of environmental issues. The agreement — part of the newly announced “Canada-Mexico Action Plan: 2025–2028” — identifies sustainability as one of four strategic pillars, alongside prosperity; mobility, inclusivity and well-being; and security. The plan comes as both countries seek to reinforce partnerships globally amid a looming US tariff threat that experts warn could push the North American economies toward recession. 

The plan’s environment and sustainability pillar includes five key elements, which purportedly highlight the two nations’ “deep commitment to environmental stewardship and climate action.”

First, both countries pledge to enhance collaboration on the sustainable management of protected natural areas (NPAs), including wildlife conservation and ecosystem protection, with particular engagement of Indigenous communities. A Memorandum of Understanding on NPA conservation is scheduled to be signed by the end of 2025 between Parks Canada and Mexico’s National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP).

On greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the nations commit to improving transparency and accountability, including through methane certification regimes. They also reaffirm support for the Environment and Sustainability Working Group (ESWG), co-chaired by Environment and Climate Change Canada and Mexico’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), which is advancing measures to mitigate short-lived GHGs like methane and black carbon.

In the hydrocarbon sector, the countries aim to strengthen energy security while advancing innovative exploration and extraction technologies. Simultaneously, they commit to promoting lower and zero-carbon energy alternatives, including liquefied natural gas, wind, geothermal, and bioenergy. Despite Canada’s recent suspension of its electric vehicle mandate following US tariffs, the plan expresses support for investment in electric mobility and public transportation. Meanwhile, the two countries will explore cooperation on energy efficiency in production processes, human resource development, and academic collaboration.

Both nations also pledged to enhance water management strategies, pursuing technological innovations for effective freshwater resource management.

Finally, the sustainability pillar emphasizes inclusive growth and responsible business conduct, particularly in sectors driving the green transition, the circular economy, and the development of future-oriented technologies.

Notably, the 2025–2028 plan makes no mention of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), a trilateral sustainability group including Canada, Mexico, and the United States. In June, representatives from the three countries met in Mexico City for the CEC’s 32nd annual session, seeking to strengthen circular economy strategies, wastewater management and biodiversity. They also began a five-year review of the USMCA Environmental Cooperation Agreement to improve transparency and compliance in environmental enforcement. Nevertheless, US President Donald Trump's threats to pull out of the USMCA cast doubt over the future of this review.

Cooperation on Mining Oversight

The mining sector was also a key focus of the plan, given that Canadian companies make up roughly 70% of all foreign direct investment in the Mexican mining industry and operate 74% of the country's mining concessions. Under the plan's prosperity pillar, both countries pledged joint action to promote more sustainable mining practices. For his part, Carney announced that Canada would review whether its mining companies in Mexico comply with local environmental regulations. During his meeting with Sheinbaum, he requested a list of companies allegedly failing to meet requirements issued by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) and pledged to press them for compliance on mitigation and remediation measures during environmental impact assessments.

This issue had previously been raised during an Aug. 5-6 visit by Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand and Minister of Finance François-Philippe Champagne. At that meeting, Sheinbaum emphasized the importance of addressing environmental violations by Canadian mining firms. “We discussed all the damages caused by these companies in Mexico and the need for them to comply with the requirements imposed by an environmental impact assessment and its resolution,” she said. Later, at a Latin American climate conference organized ahead of COP30, Mexican Environment Minister Alicia Bárcena criticized the asymmetric power balance between rural populations living in mineral-rich areas of Mexico and large Canadian mining interests. Bárcena claimed that Canadian companies “pay communities a little bit for housing, electricity, and water, but then leave behind an environmental liability that no one can resolve.”

Carney’s willingness to engage on the issue follows years of complaints from Mexican and Canadian rights groups regarding Canadian mining practices. According to the Mexican Network of People Affected by Mining (REMA), authorities often hesitate to act against Canadian firms due to potential trade disputes, as the outsized role Canadian capital plays in the country's mining sector. 

REMA cites the case of Almaden Minerals, which initiated international arbitration after the Mexican government blocked the Ixtaca project and retroactively terminated mineral concessions. The Toronto-based Justice and Corporate Accountability Project (JCAP) links similar concerns to the unresolved case of Mariano Abarca, a Chiapas community leader murdered after protesting a Blackfire Exploration mine, alleging complicity by company employees and authorities.