October 15, 2024, 11:00-12:00 CST
Richard Kiy is the President & CEO of the Institute of the Americas, a non-partisan, independent nonprofit organization co-located on the UC San Diego campus focused on energy, environment & climate change and economic competitiveness issues across the Western Hemisphere.
Prior to joing IOA, Kiy served for nearly 14 years as President & CEO of the International Community Foundation where he expanded the foundation’s grantmaking throughout Mexico and 11 other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. His government service includes having served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary and Technical Director at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environment, Health & Safety as well as the Acting Environmental Attaché at the U.S. Embassy-Mexico City and Special Assistant for U.S-Mexico Border Affairs for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Kiy’s private sector experience includes having served as Vice President for Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)’s Mexican subsidiary as well as serving as Director of Environment, Health and Safety (EH&S) Information Systems for the company’s INTESA joint venture company located in Caracas, Venezuela.
Kiy is a graduate of Stanford (A.B Economics) and Harvard’s JFK School of Government earning a Master’s degree in Public Administration. Kiy is co-author of the book Environmental Management along North America’s Borders and serves on the Binational Advisory Board of the San Diego Natural History Museum.
Speaker presentation
USMCA Energy & Environment Considerations: Challenges & Opportunities Toward Future Continental Regulatory Alignment
The United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) was enacted in 2020 as a substitute to NAFTA to not only promote more balanced and reciprocal trade across North America but also to provide a framework for deepening trilateral cooperation on environmental and energy issues. The USMCA includes environmental provisions with sanctions for non-compliance as well as a chapter calling for non-discriminatory treatment by state owned enterprises in commerce and trade with parties within the free trade area. Yet, challenges remain with the USMCA’s implementation and, in particular, Mexico’s level of compliance with key provisions on both the environmental and energy front that are now putting the trade pact’s renewal at risk in 2026.
Kiy will discuss current obligations under the current trade pact as well as on-going disputes and transboundary environmental problems complicating the USMCA’s renewal. He will also highlight opportunities for greater continental alignment for expanded energy integration and environmental cooperation to respond North America’s growing need for enhanced energy & water security, economic competitiveness, climate action as well as biodiversity and habitat protection of eco-systems of mutual interest.