At a summit in Washington, DC, Monday, President Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Felipe Calderon of Mexico pledged to promote greater energy cooperation among the countries.

“Energy cooperation reduces the cost of doing business and enhances economic competitiveness in North America. We recognize the growing regional and federal cooperation in the area of continental energy, including electric generation and interconnection and welcome increasing North American energy trade,” the three leaders said in a joint statement.

They noted that they would work towards a seamless electricity grid. “We support coordinated efforts to facilitate seamless energy flows on the interconnected grid and to promote trade and investment in clear energy technologies.”

The leaders also committed their governments to cooperate in the “safe and efficient exploration and exploitation of resources.”

This was not the first time that the leaders of North America came together on energy issues. During the summer of 2009, Obama, Harper and Calderon collectively pledged to take “aggressive action” to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that are contributing to global climate change (see Power Market Today, Aug. 12, 2009).

“We support a global goal of reducing global emissions by at least 50% compared to 1990 or more recent years by 2050, with developed countries reducing emissions by at least 80% compared to 1990 or more recent years by 2050,” thee three said in a joint statement in August 2009.

At that time, the leaders vowed to build a smart grid in North America for more efficient and reliable electricity interconnections as well as regional cooperation on carbon capture and storage. They also noted that a key objective would be to reduce GHG emissions in the oil and natural gas sector, and promote best practices in reducing emissions associated with the venting and flaring of natural gas.

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