Environment Minister Alicia Bárcena, leading Mexico’s delegation at this year’s Davos Forum, is using her platform to emphasize the importance of accelerating the fight against climate change.
The annual World Economic Forum, held in Davos, Switzerland, from Jan. 19 to 23, provides world leaders, business executives and academics the opportunity to discuss critical global economic and political issues.
▶️ En el primer día del @wef_es, la secretaria @aliciabarcena destacó que México avanza con decisión hacia la conservación del 30% del territorio para 2030, impulsando la transición energética y una economía circular que deja atrás el modelo lineal.
♻️ “Los residuos pueden… pic.twitter.com/bJxwhRU44f
— SEMARNAT México (@SEMARNAT_mx) January 21, 2026
Alongside Bárcena, the coordinator of the Advisory Council for Economic and Regional Development and Relocation, Altagracia Gómez Sierra, is attending Davos, as well as several Mexican business leaders.
Gómez Sierra will participate in a public panel dedicated to regional economic growth.
Bárcena, who heads Mexico’s Environment and Natural Resources Ministry (Semarnat), is scheduled to participate in four sessions at Davos — an open forum on climate resilience and security; industrial decarbonization as a growth strategy; opportunities in the ocean economy; and a new agreement on plastics.
She has attended several Davos Forums in the past, previously representing former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. She is one of several Latin American leaders attending this year, including Javier Milei of Argentina, Gustavo Petro of Colombia and Daniel Noboa of Ecuador.
Bárcena calls for faster progress on climate change
While this year’s summit has been marked by tension between U.S. President Donald Trump and his country’s European allies, Bárcena’s focus has been firmly fixed on environmental issues. In the first days of the forum, she called for the acceleration of a green energy transition and the expansion of the circular economy, stressing that current efforts are not enough to tackle the global climate crisis.
“We have an urgent need to move faster and on a larger scale,” said Bárcena.“The scale at which we are currently working is insufficient, and here in Davos, I am trying to ensure that I find companies capable of accelerating the process quickly.”
Bárcena told delegates that Mexico is currently working towards achieving net-zero carbon emissions, although it relies heavily on fossil fuels.
“All societies need to decarbonize, and there are many ways to do so,” she said. “Of course, one is to eliminate fossil fuels, but a country like mine is probably not ready for that yet, although we are committed to doing so in the future and becoming a net-zero emissions country.”
The minister said that Mexico is currently developing three circular economy parks — for the reuse of tires, construction waste, solid waste and plastics — to reduce the impact on the environment and generate new value chains.
Finally, Bárcena reiterated that Mexico is looking to establish partnerships with international companies and stakeholders to accelerate the country’s energy transition and strengthen circular economy projects.
With reports from El Economista, La Jornada and W radio
