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From the glacial peaks of Popo and Itza to
the coral reefs of Cancun, Mexico has an environmental heritage
that people from all over the world can admire. But admiration
alone cannot protect these natural marvels in a time when
many ecosystems are threatened. While Mexico and the U.S.
share years of working together on issues of mutual importance,
meetings this week in Washington will offer another joint
concern that our countries can tackle together: global climate
change.
On September 27-28 in Washington, D.C., the U.S. will host
the Major Economies Meeting on Energy Security and Climate
Change, an initiative based on the fundamental premise that
climate change is a generational challenge that requires a
global response. I am especially pleased to see that Mexico
is playing an important role, and sending a high-level delegation
from the Secretariats of Foreign Affairs, Environment and
Natural Resources, and Energy to the meeting.
This meeting is the first in a series of gatherings that
will include 17 of the world’s major economies, developed
and developing, as well as the United Nations. Combined, all
participating countries represent about 85 percent of the
global economy and 80 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions.
Nations around the world are already working in partnership
to find the technological solutions that hold the key to reducing
greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. Mexico is leading the
way by designing a National Strategy on Climate Change (Estrategia
Nacional de Cambio Climático) and beginning to implement that
strategy.
An early goal of the national strategy is to plant 250 million
trees in 2007. Towards this commitment, the Government of
Mexico has launched the ProÁrbol Campaign, aiming to reach
one fourth of the billion-tree goal of the United Nations
Environment Program (UNEP).
During the meeting, we expect to put special emphasis on
how major economies can, in close cooperation with the private
sector, accelerate the development and deployment of clean
technologies. We also aim to construct work programs for key
sectors such as advanced coal and transportation, strengthen
emissions reporting, and harmonize how we measure our reductions
at the corporate level.
The private sector and nongovernmental organizations will
participate in the meeting. We hope to hear from them about
the challenges they face, technologies available to them,
technologies in development, and how to address funding challenges.
The meeting should meaningfully engage all countries and recognize
the diversity of solutions and approaches that nations will
take, based on their needs and resources, to combat climate
change. Rather than a “one size fits all” approach, we are
advocating flexibility, innovation and teamwork on a global
scale.
In my almost five years of work in Mexico, I have seen cooperation
between our countries on countless levels. But the work that
we both commit ourselves to in Washington this week could
be the most important and challenging task yet. As difficult
as this task may be, the richness of the natural beauty found
in both Mexico and the U.S. merit our mutual cooperation and
commitment so that we can preserve these treasures for generations
to come.
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