Joint Statement of the United States and Mexico Resulting From the Second Meeting of the Bilateral Climate Change Working Group

Dr. Fernando Tudela, Mexican Undersecretary for Environmental Planning and Policy at the Mexican Secretariat for the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) and Dr. Harlan Watson, Senior Climate Negotiator and Special Representative of the U.S. Department of State, met on April 21^st to exchange views in advance of the Bilateral Working Group meeting. The Mexican delegation to the Bilateral Working Group meeting was then led by Dr. Tudela and the U.S. delegation was led by Dan Reifsnyder, Director of the Office of Global Change.

The Mexican delegation included representatives from the Ministries of Economy, Energy, and Environment and Natural Resources, as well as the National Institute of Ecology and Petróleos Mexicanos. The U.S. team included experts from the U.S. Departments of Commerce (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), Energy, and State, as well as the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Science Foundation.

The Parties further discussed the seven agreed areas of cooperation, including emission inventories, economic and climatic models, energy, adaptation, agriculture/forestry, earth observations, and carbon capture and storage. Additionally, the two countries discussed the Methane to Markets Initiative , of which both countries are founding members. U.S. and Mexican representatives also considered additional areas for cooperation such as cleaner energy production (renewable sources of energy, energy efficiency andmethane recovery), integrated environmental strategies, and carbon cycling.

The representatives of Mexico and the U.S. reviewed ongoing cooperative activities and considered a range of new and expanded activities. Examples of projects and activities under the bilateral partnership include:

• Continued cooperation on the Methane to Markets Initiative (M2M)
• Technical assistance for the periodic updating of greenhouse gas inventories and development of economic/environmental models to support decision-making;
• Cooperation through the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum (CSLF) and development of projects in geologic sequestration for consideration by CSLF (including the nomination of the Campo Carmito project for certification by the CSLF);
• Cooperation in development of integrated carbon cycle research, building toward coordination through the North American Carbon Program; and
• A robust program of clean production initiatives, including activities designed to promote energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy.

• Engage in public outreach describing U.S.-Mexico cooperation in the area of climate change through a joint brochure reflecting quantifiable projects;
• Carry out additional joint planning for the July, 2005 economic-environmental modeling workshop to be held in Mexico City;
• Identify ways to move forward in the North American Carbon Program;
• Discuss possible future cooperation in the area of biofuels;
• Extend existing joint modeling programs and consider economic factors in methane recovery; and
• Discuss additional collaborative studies in the area of adaptation, such as the recently completed Hermosillo, Sonora study.