La Jornada: Green fund launched; Sustainability should not be seen as an expense: Treasury

Sustainability should not be seen only as an obligation or a cost, it can also be part of a strategy of competitiveness, resilience and value creation in the long term, with the active participation of the private and institutional sectors, guaranteed Édgar Amador Zamora, Secretary of Finance and Public Credit.

The person responsible for the country’s public finances assured that projects, for example, water security, basin recovery, ecosystem conservation, circular economy, air quality, biodiversity or territorial resilience contribute to reducing risks in value chains and strengthening the environments where it operates.

In the context of the presentation of the Environmental Capital Fund for Mexico, a financial instrument created by the Ministries of Finance and Environment, as well as the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, whose purpose is to mobilize and channel resources towards the country’s strategic environmental priorities, Amador Zamora asserted that many companies in Mexico make efforts in the matter, so the goal is to offer a platform that combines these efforts.

“For this reason, we invite companies, the business sector, to adopt this fund, to comment on it, to gossip about it in their circles. It is very important that by word of mouth and voice by voice we can make this a vehicle that complements the public policy effort,” said the Secretary of the Treasury.

Since there is no plan B for the conservation and restoration of ecosystems in the country, Alicia Bárcena, Secretary of the Environment, highlighted that achieving an environmental policy compatible with the development of the economy is possible.

“It is important to give value to nature as we do with carbon dioxide,” said the official.

Global damage to nature amounts to 7.3 bdd

Bárcena mentioned a global cost of 7.3 billion dollars in damage to nature and only one dollar for every billion is invested to restore it.

“Through this mechanism, projects aimed at the conservation and restoration of ecosystems, the sustainable management of natural resources, climate action and other initiatives that generate environmental impact will be promoted. CAF (Andean Development Corporation) will manage and implement the Fund under a governance model that guarantees transparency, traceability of resources and monitoring of results,” announced Sergio Díaz-Granados, executive president of the organization – Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean -.

Separately, CAF presented the Vela Fund, with the support of the federal government and with an investment of up to 150 million dollars to protect ecosystems in Latin America and thus connect private investment with sustainable development.