Sunday, December 4, 2011

Mexico’s Proposed 2012 Budget Fails to Allocate Adequate Funding for Climate Change


According to a new study by the Mexican Finance Group – 16 NGOs, including CEMDA, that work on environmental, budget, gender equity, and human rights issues – the funding currently allocated in Mexico’s budget for climate change mitigation and adaptation is insufficient for meeting the goals the country has established for 2012. The group, created in 2010, agrees that international finance is necessary to complement domestic investment in order to achieve Mexico’s emissions targets, but they affirm that first and foremost it is necessary improve the national budget allocation to begin the transition towards a low carbon development path.

Mexico’s Mitigation Goals and the National Budget

In accordance with the goals established in the Special Program on Climate Change (PECC, per its acronym in Spanish), Mexico will reduce its GHG emissions by 51 million megatons CO2-equivalent from 2000 levels by 2012. Of that amount, 36% of the reduction is expected to come from the energy sector; 30% from agriculture, forests, and other land uses; and 23% from the transport sector. The Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) has recognized that Mexico is behind in meeting these reduction targets. To reverse this, budgetary funds must be redirected in a transparent and equitable manner that allows Mexico to move towards a truly low-carbon economy.
To arrange such reallocations of funds, and at the request of several concerned members of Mexico’s Congress, CEMDA and our partners conducted an analysis of budget allocations in Mexico’s four major carbon-emitting sectors (transportation, energy, agriculture, and forestry). We found a disturbing decline in resources allocated to mitigation and adaptation in the 2012 budget proposal: These resources dropped from 584.2 million pesos in 2011 to 221.1 million pesos in the 2012 budget, a 62% reduction.

Energy

Mexico’s energy sector contributes 21% of the country’s GHG emissions. Investment in renewables and energy efficiency is fundamental to reducing those emissions. However, our analysis found that the government continues to prioritize fossil fuels and to promote the research and expansion of nuclear energy. It also found that energy sector subsidies – which primarily target fossil fuels – are rising; they will reach almost 84 billion pesos by 2012.

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Air pollution in Mexico City, photo by Malingering

more about climate change:

Cycling in Mexico City, Aggressive Driving, Integrated Mobility Sharing

Becoming Greenest: Recommendations for a More Sustainable Washington, D.C.

Urban Sprawl Could Make Cities Hotter

SUSTAINABLE URBAN ENERGY PLANNING: A STRATEGIC APPROACH TO MEETING CLIMATE AND ENERGY GOALS

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