July 28, 2014 - MEXICO CITY - On the first full day of California's Trade and Investment Mission to Mexico, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. and Mexican environment officials today signed an agreement to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change.
"California can't do it alone and with this new partnership with Mexico we can make real progress on reducing dangerous greenhouse gases," said Governor Brown.
Today's agreement was signed by Governor Brown, Mexico's Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Undersecretary Rodolfo Lacy and Mexican National Forestry Commission Director General Jorge Rescala Pérez.
"Mexico and California have a long and rich history of environmental cooperation, and recognize each other as strategic partners in coping with climate change challenges and protecting and preserving our natural resources. The agreement signed today will take our joint work to a whole new level of cooperation, which will reflect in tangible and concrete results that will inure to our mutual benefit," said Mexico's Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Undersecretary Rodolfo Lacy.
Today's pact seeks to enhance cooperation through a range of activities, including:
-Aligning greenhouse gas reduction programs and strategies;
-Collaborating on fire emergency response along the border and other climate change adaption strategies;
-Improving air quality, including reducing pollution and expanding markets for clean energy technologies; and
-Strengthening fuel and truck efficiency standards and supporting green freight initiatives.
"In line with the priorities of the Mexican Government for the forestry sector, the Memorandum of Understanding signed today with the State of California lays down the conditions and excellent opportunities for mutual cooperation to strengthen our capacity to prevent and respond to forest fires, a key issue in our common border," said Mexican National Forestry Commission Director General Jorge Rescala Pérez.
The agreement with Mexico comes on the heels of similar agreements signed in 2013 with the governments of British Columbia and the states of Oregon and Washington and China's National Development and Reform Commission - the first agreement of its kind on climate change between the commission and a subnational entity. For the past several years, the California Air Resources Board and Quebec have worked together to fully harmonize their cap-and-trade programs.
The Governor first announced the Trade and Investment Mission to Mexico in his 2014 State of the Stateaddress and met with Mexican Consuls General from cities across California in March. Last week, ahead of the trip, Governor Brown met with Mexico's Secretary of Foreign Affairs José Antonio Meade Kuribreña in Sacramento and invited Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto to meet later this year in California.
The Governor is joined on the Trade and Investment Mission to Mexico by a delegation of state legislators and senior administration officials. A delegation organized by the California Chamber of Commerce with the help of the California Foundation for Commerce and Education that includes approximately 90 business, economic development, investment and policy leaders from throughout California is also participating in the trade mission.
A copy of the agreement signed today can be found here.
