The first of my reports will be a general assessment on the situation of climate change in Mexico, where our policies stand and any reforms recently made by executive order or passed by the legislative power.

 

Climate change is considered one of the most important environmental problems of our time, and can be defined as any significant change in the planet's climate system, which remains for decades or longer.

Climate change can be caused by natural causes, or as a result of human activities.

 

Global warming is the most obvious manifestation of climate change, and refers to the average increase in global and terrestrial temperatures. In the last three decades the surface of the Earth has become increasingly warm, and records of any epoch preceding 1850 have been surpassed. (IPCC, 2014)

 

Although the planet's climate has naturally changed over time, there is clear evidence that climate change can be attributed to effects from human activities.

 

While there are of course natural causes to climate change, I will concentrate on human activities that directly correlate to climate change.

From the so-called Industrial Revolution to the present day, industrial processes are developed by burning fossil fuels (oil, gas and its by-products, such as gasoline) and also by taking advantage of natural resources.

 

These activities are changing the composition of the Earth's atmosphere, emitting more gases and greenhouse compounds that can remain in the atmosphere for more than 50 years. Although more than half of the CO2 emitted takes a century now to be removed from the atmosphere, a part of the emitted CO2 (about 20%) remains in the atmosphere for many millennia. (IPCC, 2013)

 

Over the past 800 000 years, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide have increased to unprecedented levels. Carbon dioxide concentrations have increased by 40% since the pre-industrial era primarily due to emissions from fossil fuels and, secondly, to the net emissions from land-use change.

 

The oceans have absorbed about 30% of the anthropogenic carbon dioxide emitted, causing their acidification. (IPCC, 2013) Which in turn affects the fauna living there and us, the primary users of the sea resources.

 

Mexico is a developing country, and as such the industrial revolution arrived a bit late, however in present day Mexico represents one of the largest economies in Latin America, part of that goes to industries.

And as such Mexico has been working on the issuance of various legal, regulatory and public policy instruments, as well as the institutional arrangements necessary to address climate change in the country.

 

At the Federal level, the public policy instruments related to climate change in Mexico are as follows:

Article 4 of the Mexican Constitution states that: Everyone has the right to a healthy environment for their development and well-being. The State shall guarantee respect for this right.

 

Energetic reform

Constitutional reforms in energy were enacted in December 2013 with the aim of modernizing the country's energy sector. This new framework sets the basis for a market for the generation of renewable energy sources and cleaner technologies, as well as promoting energy efficiency in the generation, distribution and transmission of electricity, among other topics.

This reform was met with contempt by citizens, as well as businesses more recently in the beginning of 2017 the subsidizing of PEMEX (Mexican Petroleum) stopped from the federal government, to which the price of gas raised by 20%. However this was a number that was expected and predicted, the cost of the subsidy was too much for the government.

 

Energy Transition Law

Law published in the DOF (Official Diary of the Federation)[1] on December 24, 2015, which aims to regulate the sustainable use of energy as well as obligations on clean energy and reducing pollutant emissions from the electricity industry.

 

Among other laws protecting the environment there are also tools of planning, such as:

National Development Plan 2013-2018.

In terms of climate change, the National Development Plan 2013-2018 establishes the importance of reducing dependence on fossil fuels. Specifically, Strategy 4.4.3 establishes the need to "Strengthen the national policy of climate change and care for the environment to move towards a competitive, sustainable, resilient and low-carbon economy"

 

Mexico's Climate Change Mid-Century Strategy (2050)

It is an instrument that guides the national policy to face the impacts of climate change and towards a low carbon economy in the medium and long term. It describes the strategic lines of action of the three levels of government.

 

National Program for the Sustainable Use of Energy 2014-2018 (PRONASE)

It is the instrument that defines the strategies, objectives, lines of action and goals that will allow reaching the optimum use of energy in processes and activities for their exploitation, production, transformation, distribution and final consumption.

 

 

In March 2013, Mexico became the first developing nation to formally pledge to cut global warming pollution. It promised to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 22 percent by 2030

Last year Mexico was one of the 60 countries that ratified the Paris Agreement.

 

 

References:

 

 

IPCC. (2013).  "Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2013: Physical Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change "[Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, United States of America, p. Four.

 

IPCC. (2014). Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, R.K. Pachauri and L.A. Meyer (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, pág.2.

 

PRONASE,(2014) Law published in the Official Diary of the Federation. Retrieved from: http://dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5342503&fecha=28/04/2014

 

SEGOB (2013). Mexico?s Development Plan. Retrieved from: http://pnd.gob.mx/

 

SEGOB (2016). Mexico?s Actions and Programs. Retrieved from: http://www.gob.mx/inecc/acciones-y-programas/marco-institucional

 

SEMARNAT-INECC. (2016). Mexico?s Climate Change Mid-Century

Strategy. Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) and National

Institute of Ecology and Climate Change (INECC), Mexico City, Mexico.