| | |  Business News | June 2009 
Support from Private Enterprise Vital for Achieving Green Economy: UNEP
 Presidencia de la República
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June 06, 2009
| | During his working tour of the state of Quintana, President Felipe Calderón led the Celebration of World Environment Day 2009 at the Xcaret Recreational Center, Municipio de Solidaridad. (Presidencia de la República) | |
Moderating the panel on "The Business Sector's Contribution to a Green Economy," Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Achim Steiner warned that without the support of the private sector, it will be impossible to promote a green revolution that will guarantee a change of mentality in the way business is done.
He said that the necessary technology is available to move towards a greener economy but that the reason why it has not been achieved is the lack of coherence between government policies and the response from private industry. “Governments alone cannot regulate a different economy."
He said that businessmen are at a crucial point for displaying their leadership and achieving this transition, rather than fighting government and insisting that it does what they want.
For his part, Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources, Juan Rafael Elvira Quesada said that in order to achieve a green economy, it is necessary to promote tax incentives, However, he explained that promoting these measures requires identifying the organizations, firms and associations that are obeying the law in order to offer them this benefit.
“We must also detect those operating illegally, who do not have permits and who are polluting to apply harsher sanctions and laws that will improve the systems," he said.
The Secretary of the Environment spoke of government's success in working with the country's small and medium firms, since by 2012 they are expected to have helped produce 800,000 fewer tons of Greenhouse Effect Gasses (GEG) in a verifiable, measurable manner, as well as achieving substantial savings in the consumption of water, fuel and raw materials.
He said that another strategy promoted by President Felipe Calderón’s government to promote a green economy is the Temporary Employment Program (PET) through which SEMARNAT preserves natural protected areas and forest mass.
He said that the National Tourist Board has authorized over six billion dollars in tourist projects that comply fully with environmental law.
“This has taken over a hundred meetings. Businessmen who once came in to clear hectares of mangrove swamp and invade beaches are now coming back to preserve natural species without destroying them.”
For her part, Coparmex member Lourdes Aduana Barba said that Mexico is moving slowly towards the creation of a green economy, meaning that it should move more quickly to avoid lagging behind in the global economy.
“Both Federal Government and firms must change the equation and support each other to revitalize public finances and private investment," he said.
Aduana Barba agreed with the Semarnat director regarding the promotion of tax incentives that will make it possible to achieve a green economy and sustainable consumption.
The panel, moderated by Under-Secretary of Environmental Promotion and Regulations, Sandra Denisse Herrera Flores, also included Cuauhtémoc Martínez, member of the National Confederation of Industrial Chambers (Concamin); Daniel Basurto, member of the Mexican Bar of the College of Lawyers and Alejandro Sosa of IGEMI.
Source: Media and Communications Office. Secretariat of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT). |
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