Mexico will demand greater financing at COP26 to combat climate change

The Government of Mexico will demand at the COP26 Climate Summit, which this year will be held in Glasgow, greater financing so that developing countries can meet their goals to curb global warming, Marcelo Ebrard, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, said on Monday. Mexican. The chancellor has criticized the lack of commitment of the richest nations in the delivery of funds to face climate change and has recalled that in 2015 there was a world promise to allocate 100,000 million dollars until 2020 to promote economies less dependent on carbon. “Access to resources is not proportional, as corresponds to what each country is generating[en emisiones] . A few years ago it was announced that there was going to be 100,000 million dollars to help countries[más pobres] , but of that money, as far as we know, nothing has been applied, ”said Ebrard.

Mexico will take this demand as a joint position with the rest of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, added the head of Mexican diplomacy. “Every four years that we meet, different announcements are made and then we haven’t seen the resources. The effort is not proportional. In Latin America we have to make an enormous effort to accelerate the pace regarding the change of energy sources, electromobility, reduce methane gas, but our ability to access resources cannot be compared to that of the United States and the European Union. There has to be an effort to access resources, because today it is not like that”, the foreign minister criticized.

The Mexican delegation that will participate in COP26 will be headed by Martha Delgado, Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs of the Foreign Ministry. María Luisa Albores, Secretary of the Environment (Semarnat), will also participate, although this morning it was speculated that neither that entity nor other organizations linked to the environmental sector were part of the official delegation, made up of members of the Foreign Ministry and Mexican diplomats. Officials from the Secretariat “said that it was a fact that they were not going,” according to a source in the sector. The news had also been reported this morning by the newspaper La Jornada, which cited sources from the communication area of Semarnat. Ebrard, however, has confirmed the participation of Albores and members of organizations related to the environment.

Mexico is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change due to its geographical position and the rapid devastation of its resources. In Veracruz, for example, experts estimate that between 93% and 97% of its jungles and forests have been lost, which makes it a very vulnerable region to extreme weather events, as has happened this year with the hurricane season. The northern areas of the country, where droughts are becoming more aggressive, are also exposed.

“Mexico’s commitment to the Paris Agreement is made up of mitigation goals for 2030 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 22% and the use of black carbon by 51%. If we receive financial support, technology transfers and cooperation in capacity development from the international community, these percentages could be 36% and 70% respectively,” Semarnat said in a statement issued on Friday afternoon.

However, experts on the subject say that Mexico has not yet done enough to achieve its commitments to combat climate change. “Mexico is not a low-income economy, we are the emitter[de gases de efecto invernadero] number 13 in the world. Without adequate climate change policies, we will be in 2030 with emissions that may be greater than those of the United Kingdom or Germany or similar to those of Japan”, warns Jorge Villarreal, director of climate policy at the Climate Initiative of Mexico (ICM). “Mexico reaches the[COP26] with a very low level, because the goal of reducing emissions by 22% is not ambitious. And in that sense, there is a wide window of opportunity for Mexico to reorient its policies,” adds Villarreal.

Ebrard’s announcement on Monday comes a few days after Mexico agreed with the United States to make progress in limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, during the visit of the United States presidential special envoy for climate, John Kerry. During the meeting, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador turned his speech on energy and stated that his administration “will promote a structured transition towards more renewable energies in Mexico, as well as strengthen its energy independence,” according to a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry. López Obrador promised to promote more investments in wind, solar, geothermal and hydroelectric energy. The announcement comes in the midst of controversy over the discussion of an energy reform promoted by the president, which has been strongly criticized by environmental organizations, environmental experts and opposition politicians. The initiative limits private electricity generation, cancels current contracts and concentrates
the power of energy generation in the Federal Energy Commission, CFE.

“For the first time, the president changes his narrative and highlights the importance of climate change and the commitment to comply with the Paris agreements,” explains Villarreal. “However, it is important to be clear about how the Government is going to implement climate commitments, because in Mexico the energy sector is responsible for 63% of emissions and the transport sector is the one that contributes the highest percentage. Mexico must present a clear route for the reduction of emissions, because the climate policy arrives at COP26 with little ambition, “says the expert.

Source: The Country