U.S., Mexico Partner to Fight Climate Change

April 23, 2009

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The United States and Mexico agreed to a new partnership to fight climate change and promote environmentally-friendly forms of energy production, reports Reuters.

President Barack Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderon, meeting in Mexico City, agreed on the importance of promoting clean energy and combating climate change and the value of joint collaboration in achieving these goals by forming a “U.S.-Mexico Bilateral Framework on Clean Energy and Climate Change,” according to a White House statement.

The collaboration will focus on renewable energy, energy efficiency, adaptation, market mechanisms, forestry and land use, green jobs, low carbon energy technology development and capacity building.

Obama Administration’s has consistently tied climate action to opportunities for economic growth, and has sent strong signals that the U.S. would take a leading role in setting global policy.

The partnership will also look at strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. According to a recent study, led by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the biggest threat of global warming can be significantly lessened if nations cut emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases by 70 percent this century.

The U.S. and Mexico are holding their first Border States Climate Change Workshop on April 22-23 to address climate change in Monterrey, Mexico. Participants include representatives from the EPA and its Mexican counterpart, Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (SEMARNAT), along with its science arm Instituto Nacional de Ecologia (INE), and stakeholders from 10 states on both sides of the border to discuss ongoing national and state level efforts to address climate change and to explore future initiatives.

The workshop will focus on a variety of ongoing and future efforts including greenhouse gas inventories and emissions forecasts, reporting systems, action plans, and energy efficiency projects and financing opportunities.

The workshop is sponsored by the Border 2012 Program Air Policy Forum and the Border Environment Cooperation Commission. The U.S.-Mexico Border 2012 Program is a collaboration between the United States and Mexico to improve the environment and protect the health of nearly 12 million people living along the border.

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