Canada signs trilateral energy S&T agreement with US and Mexico

Canada has entered into a Trilateral Agreement for Cooperation in Energy Science and Technology with the US and Mexico, establishing a high-level framework for future collaborative R&D projects in the areas of traditional and renewable energy sources as well as demonstration and deployment projects.

The pact was signed late last month and is open to anyone from government, industry or academia requiring a legal framework for bilateral or trilateral R&D projects. Canada will not release the text of the agreement until it is ratified by Parliament, but it is available in Spanish on the web site of the Mexican Secretariat of Energy (http://www.energia.gob.mx/webSener/portal/index.jsp?id=242).

"The agreement covers basic and applied research, capacity building, information exchange and demonstration," says Melina Sejnoha, Natural Resources Canada's director of energy technology policy. "The focus is on clean energy technology options but it deals with all energy sources."

Negotiations on the agreement date back to 2001and the creation of the North American Energy Working Group. More recently they have moved forward under the Security and Prosperity Partnership. The working group examined the tools and mechanisms at the disposal of each country, developing an agreement that resulted in a treaty-level document that Sejnoha says will have significant implications for future collaboration.

Further development of the agreement is on the agenda of the upcoming North American Leaders' Summit, scheduled for August 20-21 in Montebello QC.

includes Ip agreement

The agreement includes provisions for the protection of intellectual property, a legal framework for the transfer of funds and the exchange of scientific and technical personnel to participate in joint studies and projects. It will be followed by discussions within the working group to identify ways to increase collaborative R&D and the reduction of barriers to the deployment of new technologies. On the Canadian side, a coordinating committee has been established between government departments and agencies such as the National Research Council.

The trilateral pact is designed to be flexible and accommodate current and planned energy R&D initiatives. Sejnoha says proposed programs such as Canada California Strategic Innovation Partnership could utilize the trilateral agreement, as could demonstration projects co-funded by agencies like Sustainable Development Technologies Canada.

The trilateral agreement is just the latest in a series of developments relating to energy S&T. Last year, the Liberal-appointed National Advisory Panel on Sustainable Energy released its report calling for a system approach and increased funding for energy S&T (R$, November 27/06).

Earlier this year, the Conservative government announced its Eco Energy Technology Initiative (ETI), along with $230 million in funding aimed at increasing clean energy supplies, reducing energy waste and reducing pollution from conventional energy (R$, February 5/07).

Sejnoha says that while the ETI and the trilateral energy S&T treaty share similar priority themes, ETI funding is not earmarked for international projects.

"If there are new projects, there could be incremental sources of funding. That's a hope," she says. "It would be difficult to do these projects without new funds. International collaboration does take extra resources as they take more time and are more difficult to manage."

The agreement will remain in force for five years and renew automatically for five-years indefinitely if all parties agree.

Discussions between the three countries extended beyond energy S&T to encompass issues such as energy performance standards, standby power and energy security.

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