▲ Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard and US envoy John Kerry, at a press conference after the binational meeting on climate change.Photo the day
Alonso Urrutia and Cristina Gomez
Envoy and Correspondent
Newspaper La Jornada
Saturday, October 29, 2022, p. 8
Hermosillo, Son., For more than five hours, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and the presidential envoy for climate change of the United States government, John Kerry, met privately at the Government Palace to discuss global warming . Both parties agreed on the need to ensure that the world’s 20 largest economies meet the goals and commitment to reduce the increase in temperature.
At the end of the meeting, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Marcelo Ebrard, said that Mexico presented to the US mission details of the so-called Sonora Plan, considered as the model to be followed by other entities to promote the use of renewable energies.
He mentioned that among the main projects presented are the progress of the program in the capture of methane gas by Petróleos Mexicanos in order to reuse the energy that is being burned; likewise, the progress in the construction of the solar plant in Puerto Peñasco, whose works began in March and which at the time will become the largest in Latin America; He explained that the Sonora Plan aims to develop the use of solar energy and the exploitation of lithium deposits (basic mineral for the manufacture of batteries).
On his occasion, Kerry acknowledged the scope of Mexico’s plans as part of its proposals to help tackle climate change. He stated that the world’s 20 largest economies have a special responsibility to meet the challenges posed by Glasgow and Paris to do everything possible to prevent global warming.
He asserted that it has become clear that as a result of the war in Ukraine and the covid pandemic, some countries have faced problems in the supply of energy, whose supply has been reduced and has generated new challenges.
President Joe Biden, he maintained, has defined the steps that the United States will take in support of the different actions carried out by other countries on the way forward in cooperation in energy and environmental matters. He highlighted the coincidence between Mexico and the United States to achieve the goals set by both parties.
Mexico informed of the program for the exploitation of lithium, whose reserves were nationalized and a public company was created.
The meeting was divided into two parts: the first stage lasted for three hours. Later, López Obrador, accompanied by Ebrard, and the head of the Unit for North America, Roberto Velasco, as well as Governor Alfonso Durazo, spoke with Kerry and Ambassador Ken Salazar. They exchanged positions on the next United Nations conference on climate change (COP 27) to be held in November in Egypt. At that summit, Mexico will present the Sonora Plan as one of its main contributions, for the accelerated growth of the use of solar, geothermal, wind and hydraulic energy.
Ebrard pointed out that the United States has the commitment that by 2035 coal will no longer be consumed as an energy alternative, as is Mexico, since they are integrated economies. They are very positive agreements that reflect a coordinated vision, with common objectives and actions.
