The United States and Canada have agreed to joint steps to fight climate change, including cutting methane emissions from the oil and gas industry and signing the Paris climate deal “as soon as feasible,” the White House said on Thursday.
The agreement comes ahead of an Oval Office meeting between Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Barack Obama at the White House. Trudeau, who was elected to office last year, is somewhat of a political darling and has gained attention recently for his welcoming of Syrian refugees. He’s due in Washington, D.C., on Thursday for his first official state visit.
The countries committed to cutting emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, by 40% to 45% below 2012 levels by 2025, to take steps to fight climate change in the Arctic, and to speed development of green technologies, it added.
(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Alexander Smith)
