Mexico Cuts Emissions by Half
Mexico, host to the UN global climate change conference later this year, has made great strides in its efforts to cut GHG emissions. The ways in which they have done so serve as a lesson to other developing nations around the world.
For example, Indian and Chinese emissions have only increased. According to UN official Miguel Naranjo,
They are having the same problems Mexico had in the past… They are growing faster than their capacity to adjust. They face a big challenge not to repeat the mistakes of Mexico.
As for Mexico City, it has successfully cut its emissions by half, removing itself from the top ten most polluted cities list. This is a giant leap considering that less than twenty years ago the city was named the most polluted in the world. Reports the Washington Post:
The presence of lead in the air has dropped by 90 percent since 1990. Suspended particles — pieces of dust, soot or chemicals that lodge in lungs and cause asthma, emphysema or cancer — have been cut 70 percent. Carbon monoxide and other pollutants also have been drastically reduced.
Of course, there is still work to be done – corruption and inspector payoffs do exist and the country recorded hundreds of hours of high ozone levels last year – but Mexico continues to undertake new initiatives. For example, Pemex, Mexico’s oil monopoly, plans to produce low-sulfur fuel and is currently investing billions in the project. With the aim of lessening the number of personal cars on the road, the government continues to expand the public transportation sector. Since 2005, 80,000 tons of carbon monoxide have been eliminated annually as a result of headway already made in the Metrobus system.
As for the challenges that remain? Mexico’s suburbia continues to grow – the number of cars in country increased by 4.2 million last year alone. In Mexico City, its mountainous geography traps greenhouse gases. According to experts, however, many European cities have overcome similar hurdles. There is room for Mexico’s capital to do the same, and, states Michal Krzyzanowski, World Health Organization advisor, not expensively.
