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- Solv – Effective mechanism
ECPA – RainforestECPA prevents Amazon rainforest destructionO’Keefe 10 – Professor of International Relations and Earth Systems Programs @ Stanford University [Thomas Andrew O’Keefe (Graduate of Columbia University and the Villanova University School of Law, and has an M. Phil. in Latin American Studies (History and Economics) from the University of Oxford), “While the United States Slept, South America Walked,” MCLAS: Latin American Essays, 31st Annual Conference of the Middle Atlantic Council of Latin American Studies held at the Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, March 26-27, 2010, pg. http://www.maclas.org/wp-content/uploads/MACLASJournalvol24-Nov-2011.pdf#page=43 An important pillar of the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas should be the establishment of a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) limited to the Western Hemisphere. Under the current UN administered CDM, credits can be issued to a developed country and its companies for financing projects in the developing world (e.g., building a more expensive thermal plant fueled by natural gas or a hydro dam to generate electricity instead of a cheaper coal powered generator) that reduces global greenhouse gas emissions and would not have been built but for the funding emanating from the rich country donor. The credits received through the CDM can then be used to offset mandated emission reduction targets at home. Unlike the multilateral CDM established by the Kyoto Protocol, a hemispheric version would be less susceptible to the type of fraud that plagues the current UN administered system.17 This is not only because of the smaller number of countries involved, but also because of the plethora of potential institutions in the Western Hemisphere that can more effectively administer a hemispheric cap-and-trade program. For example, the Andean Development Corporation (CAF) already oversees a Latin American carbon market through the registration and issuance of certified reductions in the transportation sector. The CAF has also signed contracts for carbon emission sales with public and private agencies (including Spain’s Ibero-American Carbon Initiative) and investment funds resulting in new energy generation facilities using renewable resources, forestry related activities, and an expansion of biofuel production. A CDM limited to the Western Hemisphere provides a way to move the Caribbean and Central America away from their traditional heavy reliance on fossil fuels. It also provides a means for sharply diminishing Brazil’s role as a top source of global carbon emissions. In contrast to the situation in China or the developed world, the bulk of Brazil’s greenhouse gas emissions come from the burning of its tropical rain forests. The continued burning of trees in Brazil, home to the 65 percent of the Amazon rain forest, also exacerbates global climate change given the important role the Amazon plays in naturally sequestering greenhouse gases and its impact on regional rainfall patterns. While forest conservation or reforestation projects can be used to obtain carbon offsets under the current multilateral CDM, Brazil---citing sovereignty concerns---has so far refused to permit any type of Amazonian conservation or sustainable use initiative to generate carbon credits. Brazil would be less likely to resist an effort to utilize projects in the Amazon to gain carbon offsets under a CDM limited to the Western Hemisphere, particularly if as part of a grand bargain, the United States agreed to eliminate its current arsenal of tariffs, hefty surcharges, quota restrictions, and subsidies that effectively keep out Brazilian sugar-based ethanol. In light of the previously discussed difficulty in getting the U.S. Congress to get rid of its ruinous corn-based ethanol program or pass a climate change bill, however, a hemispheric CDM seems unlikely at this point. Pg. 46 Solv – Increase InfrastructureClarification of NADBank’s rules paves the way for a decade of border infrastructure projectsNegroponte 12 - Senior fellow with the Latin America Initiative @ Brookings Institution [Diana Negroponte (Trade lawyer and Professor of law @ Fordham University) “What Should the Top Priority Be for U.S.-Mexican Relations?,” Americas Society/Council of the Americas, December 03, 2012, pg. http://www.as-coa.org/articles/viewpoints-what-should-top-priority-be-us-mexican-relations Deepening the trade relationship and facilitating the shipment of component parts between Mexico and the United States requires the creation of access roads some eight miles ahead of the principal border crossings. With electronic submission of customs/immigration documentation and with electronic seals on transnational containers, trucks filled with bilaterally manufactured products can more rapidly pass across the border. Currently, the trucks are delayed principally for lack of access roads leading up to the border, especially on the Mexican side. In order to construct these roads, private-public partnerships are needed. The NADBANK, established 20 years ago to support environmental projects, is the best placed to mobilize these partnerships. The bank's bylaws permit this. However, the environmental impact needs to be interpreted broadly. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could recognize that new roads relieve the congestion and high levels of air pollutants at the border crossing itself. Use of access roads may spread pollution further inland, but the levels of pollutants will be significantly lower than those currently suffered each side of the Rio Grande. NADBANK’s initiative and the White House leadership to facilitate EPA approval could lead to the development of access roads and decongestion at the actual border. Mexican presidential encouragement to NADBANK's directors to seek PPPs and U.S. presidential urging to the EPA for a broad interpretation of its mandate could result in a decade's work of new infrastructure projects. This will facilitate the anticipated tripling of cross-border trade as both countries negotiate a Trans-Pacific Partnership and Mexico negotiates a Pacific Trade Alliance with its South American partners. Presidential decisions to advance on instructing NADBANK to move forward with PPPs for these infrastructure projects are relatively easy. Their consequences will enhance the trade and prosperity of both nations. Solv – Effective mechanismNADBank is an efficient and effective funding mechanismRodriguez 09 – Chair of the Board of Advisors for the North American Center for Transborder Studies @ Arizona State University [Raul Rodriguez (Chair and professor in Banking and Finance @ University of the Incarnate Word and the President of RMI, an investment and trade consulting firm in Mexico. He served as CEO and Managing Director of the North American Development Bank (NADBank) until October 2005. Prior to joining the NADBank, he was Executive Director of the Mexican Foreign Trade Bank; the Bank’s Director for Asia; Mexico’s Trade Commissioner in Canada during the NAFTA negotiation; and Secretary of Economic Development for the Mexican border State of Tamaulipas), “The Future of the North American Development Bank” The Wilson Center Mexico Institute and El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, Policy Brief, June 2009, pg. http://wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/RODRIGUEZ%20NADBANK.pdf C. Increase the channeling of federal and state funds through NADB, starting with a refurbished Border Environment Infrastructure Fund (BEIF): There are socially critical areas of infrastructure that provide sound foundations for economic competitiveness but will not be profitable anytime soon and will continue to require strong government intervention. Governments should apply ¶ more strict “additionality” criteria to their limited investment: concentrate on what others cannot and focus on making a difference. Subsidy allocation needs to be greatly improved to make sure it reaches the poorest segments of the population and achieves better capital-to-output quotients. There are benchmarks available that suggest the maximum amount that poor households should spend out of their median income on public services, which can serve as a guideline for affordability analyses and tailored subsidies. Revolving funds should be the vehicle for making better use of scarce grant funds, and U.S. experience in that regard is relevant. The Bank has been successful in administering EPA funds, particularly serving as an efficient mechanism for applying them in Mexico to issues of priority to the U.S. government. Based on that experience, the Bank could be a conduit for other government funds, i.e. potential General Services Administration (GSA) resources for port of entry infrastructure on the Mexican side or other EPA funds, such as energy-related grants. The BEIF (see Appendix) is a significant cooperation precedent that should be preserved and expanded. It has funded over US$533 million in water and wastewater infrastructure relevant to both sides of the border, making projects affordable for communities by allowing NADB to combine grant funds with loans. Every EPA grant dollar has leveraged approximately two dollars from other sources. In Mexico it is applied pari passu with Mexican funds and has led the ¶ Mexican National Water Commission (CONAGUA) to triple its investment in the border in the past three years. Every project, whether located in the U.S. or Mexico, has provided an environmental and human health benefit for the U.S. Adequate oversight and transparency in the procurement and funding processes have been key to building bilateral trust in this program throughout the years. Directory: file -> view view -> Western Europe after wwii view -> Author study: paul fleischman view -> Qpa1 7ela study Guide view -> Arctic Oil/Gas Neg view -> November 1970 Approximately 150,000-500,000 deaths Bhola Cyclone Bangladesh view -> Grade Level: 6 Unit of Study: Caribbean glce view -> Citation: Duffield, Katy view -> Table of Contents Lesson # view -> Chinese Wind Energy Disad Download 0.64 Mb. Share with your friends:
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