Secretary Jewell, Mexican Environment and Energy Secretaries Announce Binational Energy, Conservation Agreements

Date: February 25, 2016
Contact: Jessica Kershaw, Interior_Press@ios.doi.gov

MEXICO CITY, MX – At the third round of the U.S.-Mexico High-level Economic Dialogue (HLED), U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell today signed agreements with her Mexican counterparts to strengthen ongoing cooperative activities on energy development, conservation and preparation for the impacts of climate change on the two countries’ shared natural resources.

“As allies and partners, the economies of the U.S. and Mexico are inextricably linked and a strong energy sector is a key part of that equation,” Secretary Jewell said. “I commend Mexico for its ambitious energy reforms and look forward to partnering with its new regulatory institution, the Energy, Environment and Safety Agency, as we seek to develop energy safely and responsibly."

The Obama Administration created the HLED forum in 2013 to elevate and strengthen the U.S. and Mexico commercial and economic relationship in the interest of advancing mutual economic growth, job creation, and competitiveness. This year’s U.S. delegation to the binational talks, led by Vice President Joe Biden, included discussions by Secretary Jewell to deepen our cooperative relationships with Mexico on safe and environmentally responsible development of energy resources as well as conservation of wildlife and other shared natural resources.

In a memorandum of understanding signed by Secretary Jewell on behalf of the U.S. Department of the Interior, and Secretary Pedro Joaquín Coldwell on behalf of the Mexican Ministry of Energy, both leaders agreed to enhanced coordination on energy resources, including conventional, unconventional and renewable energy resources.

Highlighting safe and responsible development of both onshore and offshore energy resources, the MOU outlines several commitments between the U.S. and Mexico to increase safety and transparency, including:

• Discussion of common safety and environmental standards, including those under existing agreements;
• Exchange of information and best practices concerning standards and requirements for compliance and enforcement; and
• Cooperation in the process of attaining compliance with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in order to strengthen transparency and accountability in the management of the extraction of natural resources. 

As part of a meeting with Mexico’s Secretary of Environmental and Natural Resources, Rafael Pacchiano, Secretary Jewell also signed a memorandum of understanding to update coordination efforts on a broad range of topics including: biodiversity and ecosystems; natural protected areas; water resources; climate change and environmental protection; and industrial safety in the hydrocarbons sector. This MOU reinforces the long-standing commitment to cooperate on these environmental and natural resources issues. At the same time, it creates a framework for sharing experience and expertise on evolving issues such as climate change and the environmental implications of energy resource development, as well as ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change. 

“The U.S. and Mexico have a long history of cooperation in conservation based on the belief that we should protect our shared natural resources for current and future generations,” Jewell said. “Today we recommit to those guiding principles, with a focus on some of the most pressing issues of our time including climate change and sustainable energy development.”

Jewell’s meeting with Secretary Pacchiano builds on a productive dialogue last fall to highlight key international efforts between the U.S. and Mexico to protect and conserve the countries’ endemic wildlife and important habitat.