Jose Mario Sanchez-Soledad presents BECC achievements at SANDAG

Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) Deputy General Manager, Jose Mario Sanchez-Soledad, gave an overview of the achievements of this organization during its 18 years of existence. The presentation was made at the meeting of the San Diego Association of Governments' (SANDAG) Committee on Binational Regional Opportunities (COBRO).

The Deputy General Manager explained to officials, council members, and representatives of various chambers of commerce and economic development how the governments of Mexico and the United States have worked in coordination to advance environmental projects that benefit border residents.

He said to date the BECC has certified 211 projects worth a combined total of more than $6.33 billion dollars.

Sanchez-Soledad explained that the Border 2012 Program benefited 11.5 million people with contributions totaling $9.8 million dollars, and now the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and SEMARNAT have launched the Border 2020 Program and are seeking to jointly reduce air pollution, improve access to clean and safe water, and promote environmental education materials, wastewater management and clean sites. Furthermore, they strive to identify joint environmental pollution response actions and implement an environmental council to assist them in meeting their goals.

In addition, the Deputy General Manager said, the BECC, using EPA funding, has supported the development of greenhouse gas emission studies in the six Mexican border states. Sonora's study was funded with EPA resources and the other five studies used BECC funding provided by the U.S. State Department and SEMARNAT. He said these studies show that in some states like Baja California, more than 50 percent of all emissions are generated by transportation, while in Coahuila 35 percent of emissions are released by the electricity sector.

BECC, using funding from EPA's Border 2012 Program, contracted with the Center for Climate Strategies (CCS) to provide assistance for the first phase of the State Climate Action Plans.

He also noted that the North American Development Bank (NADB) and BECC have been involved in renewable energy projects. Highlights include the SunPeak, AstroSol, Bryan, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and Imperial Irrigation District (IID) Solar Park, as well as the Los Vientos wind farm in Texas.

Meeting with Mexican Consul Remedios Gomez-Arnau in San Diego That same day the BECC's Deputy General Manager was invited by the Consul General of Mexico in San Diego, Remedios Gomez-Arnau, to a meeting held at the consulate with Jack Clark, Senior Manager of Building Performance Programs at California's Center for Sustainable Energy. Jose Mario Sanchez and Jack Clark exchanged information on the work performed by their respective institutions and concluded that their organizations can create synergy for the benefit of the environment.