Mexico warned this Friday, during the COP30 summit of world leaders in the city of Belém, in the Brazilian Amazon, about the “paralysis” of the international community in the face of global warming, remembering the recent climate ravages in its country and calling for action.
“What is unacceptable is the paralysis of the world in the face of it (the climate crisis), the dilution of political will in politically correct and empty speeches, cowardice disguised as diplomacy, denial in the face of science that anesthetizes action,” emphasized Alicia Bárcena, Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources of Mexico, in her speech.
Bárcena cited the “devastating rains” that recently hit Mexico, which left at least 83 dead and more than a dozen missing.
“It is a tragedy that transcends borders and that reminds us with pain, but clearly that change is no longer a warning, it is a reality that equals us as humanity because it has reached us all,” he stressed.
Likewise, he recalled that the fury of the climate does not distinguish territory or ideology or status, “it is a force that strikes without compassion and its truth is simply incontestable.”
Presents NDC 3.0 and commitments
In her speech, the secretary presented NDC 3.0, Mexico’s new Nationally Determined Contribution, with goals formulated “for the first time, in absolute terms.”
The country committed to a maximum of 364 to 404 million tons of CO2 equivalent on an unconditional basis, which implies “a reduction of more than 50% with respect to the trend scenario.”
The NDC, he explained, aims at a “new form of industrialization in Mexico, which is called Plan Mexico,” which covers sectors such as transportation, energy, industry, agriculture, waste, oil, gas and construction.
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Latin America, he emphasized, generates only 11% of global emissions, although it is one of the “most vulnerable” regions and with the greatest biodiversity.
“We estimate (…) that just by recovering 10% of the 1,450 square kilometers of Mexican mangroves, we could reduce 19 million tons of carbon, 3% of our 2024 emissions,” he noted.
He also announced commitments such as joining the Tropical Forests Forever (T3F) initiative and the creation, together with Guatemala and Belize, of the Great Mayan Forest, a corridor of 5.7 million hectares.
In addition, he stressed that climate adaptation will be treated as a national security issue and announced the first National Adaptation Policy for 2026.
Multilateralism and urgency
The secretary called to strengthen synergies between climate and biodiversity agreements, harmonize carbon measurements and accelerate global financing under the Paris Agreement.
“There is no time to lose, every tenth of a degree matters. No nation, no one, can go through this crisis alone,” he insisted.
Finally, he recalled that, as former US President Barack Obama said, the current generation is “the first generation to experience the effects of climate change and the last that will have the opportunity to reverse them.”
With information from EFE
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