Video Q&A: Joe Keenan on How to Reconcile the Economy with Ecology

“Reconciling the economy with ecology is one of the biggest challenges of our generation,” Joe Keenan told AS/COA Online’s Luisa Leme on the sidelines of the 2015 Latin American Cities Conference in Mexico City. Keenan, the executive vice president for The Nature Conservancy, identified areas where Latin American countries can begin transitioning to a greener economy. For instance, cattle raising could be more cost efficient and have lower carbon emissions by reducing the amount of acreage per cow. 

Mexico’s emission reduction targets—submitted in March ahead of the UN climate conference in Paris—makes the country a regional and worldwide leader in combating climate change. “I think that sends a very strong message that this can be done,” said Keenan. "That the developing countries aren’t an obstacle to this, that they are actually committed to making the changes necessary.” Other Latin American countries can follow in step by tackling three key issues, the environmentalist added: creating landowner registries, defining zoning laws, and giving subsidies to individuals and companies striving to lower emissions.

• Read a blog post and watch a video of Joe Keenan participating in a panel at our annual Mexico City conference.