(Recasts with White House comments; adds details, WASHINGTON
dateline, bylines)
By Roberta Rampton and David Ljunggren
WASHINGTON/OTTAWA, June 27 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack
Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican
President Enrique Pena Nieto will commit to a new regional clean
power goal at a summit this week in Ottawa, the White House said
on Monday.
The leaders, meeting in Ottawa on Wednesday at the so-called
"Three Amigos" summit, will pledge to have their countries
produce 50 percent of their power by 2025 from hydropower, wind,
solar and nuclear plants, carbon capture and storage, as well as
from energy efficiency measures, the White House said.
"We believe this is an aggressive goal, but for all three
countries, one that we believe is achievable, continent-wide,"
said Brian Deese, a senior adviser to Obama.
That is a jump from the current collective clean power
levels of about 37 percent, and will require the most ambition
from the United States, which produces about 75 percent of the
countries' power.
About a third of U.S. power now comes from clean energy
sources.
Curbing climate-changing carbon emissions has been a
priority for Obama as the end of his second and final term in
office draws closer.
But his new regulations on coal-fired power plants - the
main U.S. tool to reach emissions targets pledged at U.N.
climate talks in Paris in December 2015 - were put on hold by
the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year.
The White House believes its Clean Power Plan rules will
ultimately survive the challenge. The rules, along with tax
credits for renewable power plants, will help the United States
do its share to reach the North American goal, Deese said.
He said it would not be necessary for the United States
itself to hit the 50-percent mark to achieve the regional
target.
Mexico produces less than 20 percent of its power from clean
energy, Deese said, noting officials there had already pledged
to reach 35 percent by 2024.
Canada produces 81 percent of its electricity from
hydroelectric, solar, wind and nuclear power generation,
according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp, which first
reported the North American deal earlier on Monday.
At the Wednesday summit, the leaders also will announce new
agreements to make it easier and cheaper to trade and transmit
clean energy across the continent, Deese said.
Mexico also will join a pledge made earlier this year by
Obama and Trudeau to reduce methane emissions by 40 percent to
45 percent by 2015, he said.
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CBC report on clean energy deal http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/three-amigos-summit-climate-policies-1.3654166
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