In the morning, President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, host of the meeting, welcomed participants and exhorted them to “close the breach between climate change and poverty, with sustainable development.”

Later, the Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs Patricia Espinosa Cantellano officially assumed the presidency of the Conference, on behalf of the Government of Mexico, and noted that COP16 represents a historic opportunity to go from political discourse to action in the fight against climate change.

Christiana Felgueres Olsen, Executive Secretary for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), stated during a press conference held later that activities during this edition of the Conference can be successful if countries commit themselves to the policies on climate change.

Within the COP16/CMP6 official agenda, this Monday took place the first meeting of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long Term Cooperation, part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change under the Kyoto Protocol.

The panel “Women in Mexico before Climate Change” took place in the Mexico Pavillion at Cancunmesse Convention Center in the afternoon, with the presence of Mexico’s First Lady Margarita Zavala Gómez del Campo.

Also, and as part of the COP16/CMP6 parallel events, the forum “Business Action and Climate Change” took place, and the evening closed with a concert at the Climate Change Villa with groups Madre Tierra, Playa Limbo, Opera Prima Rock and singers Carlos Rivera and Fanny Lu.