Climate Action 2009-2010

Mexico became the first country to submit an investment plan under the Climate
Investment Fund (CIF), a joint program by the multilateral development banks.
From Kyoto to
Copenhagen
POLICY
© RussBowling/Flickr
Felipe Calderón Hinojosa
President of Mexico
Climate change is the greatest current threat to a
prosperous and equitable future for all of humanity,
and to fight it we need a consensus that leads
to concrete actions powered by clear and fair
mechanisms. To overcome our differences and provide
economic incentives and resources for change, Mexico
is proposing a Green Fund as a source of multilateral
funding for projects that reduce global carbon
emissions.
It is a time for arguments to end and agreements
to begin. Developed and developing countries must
come together under a new paradigm of common but
differentiated responsibilities, each assuming their roles
as sovereign nations. The unshakeable truth is that we
are all contributing to global warming, and must all
contribute to the solution with energetic willingness and
firm commitment.
Albert Einstein and Bertrand Russell wrote in their
1955 Manifesto that speaking, “not as members of
this or that nation, continent, or creed, but as human
beings, members of the species Man, whose continued
existence is in doubt”, we have to “learn to think in a new
way”. Their words resonate as strongly today as they did
then because our very survival is at stake.
LESSONS LEARNED
One of the lessons from our recent efforts is that good
intentions are not enough unless we back them with
concrete measures and financing. We must embrace
the concept that no matter which country reduces the
emissions, we all benefit thus we are all responsible for
making it happen.
Creating a new paradigm that embraces rich and poor,
north and south, east and west will allow us to move
beyond the old donor-recipient model and build a
new model based on mutual respect and cooperation.
Together we can change the way we produce and
consume in order to protect our greatest asset – this
planet. Separately we can achieve next to nothing.
“
It is a time for arguments to
end and agreements to begin
As a catalyst for change and a means for providing
resources to back concrete actions, the Green Fund
will provide financial incentives to reduce output of
greenhouse gases while stimulating the faltering global
economy. It will also encourage businesses, governments
and non-profit organisations to come up with creative
solutions by offering a financial stimulus. In this way we
can replace dirty old technologies with clean new ones
in even the poorest countries and facilitate the spread of
new ideas and technologies throughout the world.
How will it work? The financing will come from all world
governments based on the aforementioned principle
of common but differentiated responsibilities. All
countries, except the very poorest (the least developed
African nations), would contribute to the fund based on
the size of their economy measured by per capita Gross
Domestic Product (capacity to pay), total historical
emissions (responsibility), per capita emissions as a
“
GREEN FUND 19
VISIT: WWW.CLIMATEACTIONPROGRAMME.ORG