Mexican President Proposes $10 Billion World ‘Green Fund’

Mexican President Felipe Calderon has proposed a 10-billion-U.S. dollar "green fund" to be administered by the World Bank.

The fund would compensate ecological projects across the world based on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. "The key principle must be that the resources are paid out based on the amount of greenhouse gas you cease emitting," Calderon said at a meeting of representatives of the world's biggest economies in Jiutepec, a town in the southern Mexican state of Morelos. "The other key principle is that all contributors will be able to withdraw from the fund," he said. "Developed nations will be able to withdraw less than they put in, while developing nations will withdraw more than they put in." Calderon made the statement while speaking at the latest session of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, a series of meetings organized by the United States. The fund would be better than the current carbon credits system as it would encourage all governments to participate. If nothing is done to check climate change it will probably cost Mexico 6 percent of its GDP. The President referred to flooding in the southeastern state of Tabasco and droughts in some northern states. "Mexico has already taken on a unilateral commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 50 million tons each year. We want the rest of the world to make clear emissions reduction commitments," Calderon said.