News

• 22 webinar participants receive completion certificates
• Conference on Addressing Environmental Challenges in Municipalities open to public

Piedras Negras, Coahuila. – In conjunction with the closing session of the climate change webinar sponsored by the North American Development Bank (NADB) for staff of the local water utility, Sistema Municipal de Agua y Saneamiento de Piedras Negras (SIMAS), the entire community was invited to attend a conference on “Addressing Environmental Challenges in Municipalities” at the José Vasconcelos Auditorium.

In the presence of 200 conference attendees, the event began with a ceremony in which diplomas from NADB were presented to the 22 webinar participants who completed the course. The ceremony was presided over NADB Deputy Managing Director Alex Hinojosa, SIMAS Director Arturo Garza, the Coahuila State Secretary of the Environment, Eglantina Canales Gutiérrez, and the City of Piedras Negras council member, Eliud Cadena Toledo.

The course, “Let’s Lower the Temperature: Climate Science in Action” was offered by NADB using the massive open online course (MOOC) platform of the World Bank and, in addition to an on-site facilitator, included a visit with environmental experts and a hands-on workshop for estimating greenhouse gas emissions from projects in Mexico.

As part of the workshop, participants were divided into four teams to develop pilot projects aimed at putting their newly acquired knowledge into practice and raising their awareness of the benefits of taking the environment into account when implementing projects, by estimating the amount of greenhouse gases emitted and natural resources conserved before and after the construction and operation of a project.

The pilot projects focused on adapting the regular roofs of houses to cool roofs and replacing regular lighting with LED technology, installing low-flow fixtures for bathrooms, reusing water from air conditioners to irrigate native plants and recycling grey water to create a green area with endemic species at a primary school. The teams will follow up on the projects over the course of a year to compare the greenhouse gases emitted and water saved before and after their implementation.

“I commend the City of Piedras Negras and SIMAS for coordinating these initiatives to raise awareness in their community about the importance of being proactive in caring for the environment,” stated Mr. Hinojosa. “Given the success here in Piedras Negras, the seminar will be replicated in other communities in Coahuila and the border region.”

The conference was open to the public, and the topics covered included estimating greenhouse gas emissions from constructing and operating water projects presented by Dr. Gabriela Mantilla from the Mexican technological water institute, Instituto Mexicano de Tecnología del Agua (IMTA); the Energy Transition Law and renewables presented by Paolo Salerno from the Mexican technological institute, Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) and the energy reform and its impact on municipalities presented by Esteban Sánchez, from the law firm Rodriguez Davalos Abogados, among others.

“We wanted to take advantage of World Water Day to hold this conference with experts on the environment and public policies that impact municipal governments,” stated Mr. Garza. “We thank NADB and BECC for their support so that the staff of SIMAS, city officials, local organizations and the general public could hear first-hand from these experts.”