Humanist ecological and environmental policy vital for shared prosperity: Alicia Bárcena

Humanist ecological and environmental policy vital for shared prosperity: Alicia Bárcena

• Secretary Bárcena attended the presentation of the 2024 Socioenvironmental Agenda: Diagnoses and Proposals, where she outlined the National Restoration and Remediation Strategy. The strategy includes river and mangrove restoration, the conservation of natural areas and threatened species, productive reforestation and sustainable agriculture, climate change adaptation and mitigation, sustainable infrastructure and a circular economy
• She said that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's government fought inequality and made significant progress with social programs, and that in Dr. Claudia Sheinbaum's administration, well-being will be the policy priority, with eliminating extreme poverty as a key objective

Foreign Secretary Alicia Bárcena participated today in the presentation of the 2024 Socioenvironmental Agenda: Diagnoses and Proposals, which analyzes nine urgent topics for the incoming administration: water, forests, biodiversity, energy, mining, the agrifood system, highly hazardous pesticides, waste, and agrarian governance.

The Agenda states that while progress has been made under the current administration, the trend of environmental degradation from past administrations has continued and deepened due to various factors, including climate change.

In her remarks, the Foreign Secretary stated, "Our focus is on a humanist ecological and environmental policy. This means ensuring shared prosperity for current and future generations, moving away from the unequal neoliberal extractivist model, and upholding the right to a healthy environment."

She emphasized that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's government fought inequality and made significant progress with social programs. Similarly, she noted that Dr. Claudia Sheinbaum's administration will make wellbeing a policy priority, with eliminating extreme poverty one of its goals. Dr. Sheinbaum has extensive experience in sustainable development and energy matters, "she comes from the academic, strategic sector, she has an awareness of these issues [...] Mexico has a renewable energy target of 35%, but we want to see if we can increase it and, above all, we need to redefine our commitments in the NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution)."

Secretary Bárcena stressed that biodiversity contributes to wellbeing, which is why it is necessary to "prevent and repair environmental damage with social participation, and restore and protect our natural heritage." She outlined the National Restoration and Remediation Strategy, which includes rivers and mangroves, the conservation of natural areas and threatened species; productive reforestation and sustainable agriculture; climate change adaptation and mitigation; sustainable infrastructure and a circular economy.

"The main problem we have today is the development model, it's a neoliberal, extractivist model that creates inequalities; and as long as we don't address the root causes, we won't make sufficient progress," she said.

The Agenda was coordinated by Leticia Merino Pérez, researcher at the Institute of Social Research of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and Cecilia Navarro, member of the Colectiva Cambiémosla Ya; 35 specialists from public universities and civil organizations participated in its preparation.

The event was also attended by the incoming Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa), Mariana Boy Tamborell; the incoming Secretary of Science and Technology, Rosaura Ruiz Gutiérrez; the director of Engenera, Beatriz Olivera Villa; and the researcher from the University of Guadalajara, Enrique Jardel Peláez.