Introduction
The Mexican Secretariat of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) recently unveiled a Climate Change Strategy that critics argue is merely a collection of aspirational, ideologically-laden statements. The strategy lacks the involvement of key government officials from relevant sectors, such as energy, transportation, industry, agriculture, and finance. This absence is alarming since climate change strategies are crucial systems of sectoral policies for energy transition, transportation and mobility, as well as industrial, territorial, forestry, urban, and agricultural policies.
The Importance of Sectoral Policies
A credible climate change strategy should be viewed as a guide and compass for economic development, sustainability, long-term viability, and industrial competitiveness. It should also serve as an instrument for foreign policy. In Mexico, the primary sectors responsible for over 700 million tonnes of CO2e (Carbon Dioxide Equivalent) annual emissions are: automotive transportation, electricity generation, the oil and gas industry (including Pemex), basic industries like steel, cement, petrochemicals, and chemical industries, deforestation due to agriculture, livestock, and forest fires, the agricultural sector (fertilizers and beef cattle), and methane emissions from landfills and dumpsites.
Key Greenhouse Gases in Each Sector
Each sector must be analyzed with the most significant greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) used in refrigeration, air conditioning, and other applications. While gases other than CO2 are emitted in smaller volumes, they have a significantly higher global warming potential than carbon dioxide.
Lack of Integration and Sectoral References
SEMARNAT’s National Climate Change Strategy, presented last week, fails to integrate and reference critical sectors such as transportation and mobility, electricity, oil and gas, industry, forestry, agriculture, urban development, and investment. The document offers no concrete plans regarding energy supply and demand, private and public investments in new renewable and nuclear power plants, transmission network expansion, battery storage facilities, distributed generation installations, green hydrogen production in industry, zero deforestation and large-scale forest restoration in tropical regions, or methane emissions reduction strategies for Pemex.
Missing Policy Instruments and Adaptation Measures
The strategy lacks a detailed emissions inventory with proper sectoral breakdown, contradictory and vague information, and no methodological connection to the National Emissions Registry (RENE). It also fails to provide concrete application elements for genuine and relevant climate policy instruments, such as a federal carbon tax on CO2, state-level emissions taxes, electricity market regulations, sanctions for Pemex’s excessive methane emissions, electricity dispatch rules, carbon offset import taxes, industrial decarbonization fiscal incentives, energy efficiency standards (NOM), Clean Energy Certificates, or Payments for Environmental and Climate Services for ecosystem conservation and restoration instead of the harmful “Sembrando Vida” clientelism program.
Absence of Adaptation Measures
The strategy does not include any plans for climate change adaptation, such as coastal protection infrastructure, water supply and treatment, inter-basin water transfers, flood protection, territorial and urban regulation, or disaster prevention and Fonden restoration. However, it does emphasize “gender perspective,” “intersectionality,” and “interculturality.”
Key Questions and Answers
- What is the main criticism of SEMARNAT’s Climate Change Strategy? The strategy is seen as disappointing and lacking substance, with no integration of critical sectors or references to sectoral policies needed for energy transition, transportation, industry, agriculture, and urban development.
- Which sectors are responsible for most emissions in Mexico? The primary contributors to over 700 million tonnes of CO2e annual emissions are automotive transportation, electricity generation, the oil and gas industry (including Pemex), basic industries, deforestation, agriculture, and methane emissions from landfills and dumpsites.
- What policy instruments are missing from the strategy? The strategy lacks concrete plans for implementing genuine climate policy instruments, such as carbon taxes, electricity market regulations, sanctions for excessive methane emissions, and fiscal incentives for industrial decarbonization.
- What adaptation measures are absent in the strategy? The strategy does not include any plans for climate change adaptation, such as coastal protection infrastructure, water management strategies, flood protection, territorial regulation, or disaster prevention.
