“Everybody is part of the problem and everybody is part of the solution” when it comes to green growth, Mexico’s Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources said on a trip to Seoul to sign a memorandum of understanding with Global Green Growth Institute.

The MOU signed by Juan Rafael Elvira Quesada aims to establish a cooperative relationship for activities and initiatives related to low carbon development.

“GGGI has been a key center in pushing green growth policies throughout the world,” Elvira Quesada told The Korea Herald.

“The idea for the MOU with GGGI is to help in the construction of the Mexican Center for Sustainable Economy,” he said.

The Mexican center will concentrate on three areas: Macroeconomic modeling coordination, identifying models of coordination of state or sub-national and federal planning, and to identify best practices around the world to use in Mexico.

“Our Mexican center will focus on promoting green growth policies within Mexico but also in other developing countries,” said Elvira Quesada. “It’ll be a key institution to bridge several gaps, we believe, between the developed and developing world (and) Mexico is in an excellent position to do so.”

Elvira Quesada said the world’s climate is changing, as witnessed by the change in weather patterns affecting almost every corner of the globe.

“What we need to do is give a fresh air to the negotiations (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) and to demonstrate that it is feasible,” he said.

Elvira Quesada explained that he is looking at four projects: The financing issue from the developed world to the developing world, new ways to use technology like renewable energy, work that needs to be done to lower emissions and adapting new climate change issues.

With the help of GGGI, international funding and technology, the secretary is targeting a reduction of 30 percent in emissions in the next 10 years.

Another target is for 26 percent of the country’s energy needs to be met by renewable energy including hydroelectric power.

Elvira Quesada believes that it does not matter how much oil a country has, instead, there needs to be a balance among the types of energy production available.

“If we do so in the West, and Korea in the East, then we can have one of the most important south-south cooperation implementations in order to move green growth policies,” he said.

Elvira Quesada said that there are several dimensions to ensure economic growth and reduce emissions in the long term.

For Mexico, one way is tapping into the wind energy sector while studying how to best harness solar energy.

“The investment should be profitable if we export this renewable energy to the United States. So we have a lot of possibilities,” he said.

GGGI is a think tank and action center dedicated to facilitating and accelerating green growth through strategic partnerships with governments, businesses, and other local and international entities.

By Yoav Cerralbo (yoav@heraldcorp.com)