Mexico’s recent Energy Reform marked a big change in terms of investment and opportunities in oil and gas. However, the comprehensive package of legislation was also aimed to incentivize and accelerate the change towards the production of goods and services based on renewable energies. Mexico has great potential to develop a wide range of renewable energies including solar energy, hydroelectric, geothermal, bioenergy, and wind energy.

What’s more, in March of this year, Mexico became the first developing nation to formally promise to cut its carbon emissions, a potential milestone in efforts to reach a worldwide agreement on tackling climate change. Together with the United States' commitment to cut emissions by 26-28%, Mexico’s commitment to a 25% reduction by 2030 builds on legislation passed by the nation’s congress to reduce emissions and generate more electricity from renewable sources.

With these developments in mind, the Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute hosted Mexico’s Under Secretary of Energy Planning and Transition, Leonardo Beltrán, who spoke on both Mexico’s energy reform process and the prospects for renewable energy and carbon gas emissions reductions. At the same time, we were proud to launch our new publication “Renewable Energy in Mexico’s Northern Border Region,” which analyzes the current renewable energy situation in the north of the country and potential opportunities to engage in a productive relationship with the private and the public sectors in the United States. Jonathan Pinzón, one of the report’s authors and the Chief Operating Officer of GreenMomentum, presented the report’s findings and discussed the current state of renewables in Mexico. Our event also featured comments from Hector Castro Vizcarra, the Embassy's Minister for Energy Affairs. 

Click here to download our publication "Renewable Energy in Mexico's Northern Border Region."

Speakers

Leonardo Beltrán Rodríguez
Under Secretary of Energy Planning and Transition, Mexico's Ministry of Energy
(Presentation below)

Hector Castro Vizcarra
Representative of the Secretariat of Energy (SENER) to the Embassy of Mexico in the United States 

Jonathan Pinzón
Chief Operating Officer, GreenMomentum 
(Presentation below)

Moderator

Duncan Wood
Director, Mexico Institute, Wilson Center