Environmental leaders from US, Canada, and Mexico meet in Wilmington for CEC Council Session

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — On Tuesday, the Commission for Environmental Cooperation began its annual council session in Wilmington.  

EPA administrator Michael Regan joined representatives from the US, Canada, and Mexico for the opening ceremony at Thalian Hall to discuss the most pressing environmental issues in North America. This year’s theme is environmental justice. 

CEC Executive Director Daniel Taillant said Wilmington was chosen since North Carolina was the birthplace of the Environmental Justice Movement.  

“We’re hosted by the US EPA, so Administrator Regan is a son of North Carolina. He has roots here and he wanted this session, which was specifically focused on environmental justice to take place in one of the cradles of the Environmental Justice Movement,” Taillant said. “That’s why we’ve come to Wilmington.”  

While welcoming the international commission, Mayor Bill Saffo noted Wilmington’s own environmental issues.  

“We have almost $50 million to cleanup our water systems here just to protect the drinking water,” Saffo said. “Who I feel sorry for is the small communities that don’t have the funding necessary to protect their drinking water, and that is a national disgrace. It’s something that has to be worked on.”  

Eriel Deranger is the executive director and founder of Indigenous Climate Action in Canada. She said the fight for environmental justice—in Canada and the US—is intertwined with the fight for indigenous representation.  

“Enviromental justice is a critical critical component to how we not just address the issues at hand, but how we look at the historical harms that have been caused by the industrialization of indigenous lands and territories, and how we can move towards a more just future,” Deranger said. 

As Talliant noted, one of the biggest challenges with environmental justice advocacy is the detection of pollution.  

“Environmental justice issues oftentimes have this lack of information, so getting that information, knowing what’s in the air and water is so critical to being able to do something about it,” Talliant said.