Chapter 5 | Mexico
141
Chapter 5
Mexico
Hi g h l i g h t s
Air pollution is a significant problem in Mexico, both in its urban agglomerations and in rural areas, where reliance on biomass for cooking and other energy uses falls
outside the usual patterns among OECD member countries. The situation is compounded by
geography: the high altitude of Me i o’s largest cities means low levels of atmospheric oxygen that exacerbate incomplete fuel combustion. Mexico
highlighted air quality as a main impetus behind its climate pledge for COP21 and set one of the most aggressive targets for reducing black carbon emissions.
Despite a 30 increase in energy demand to 2040, air pollutant emissions in Mexico do not show a commensurate rise in our projections, with SO
2
emissions falling by half. This decoupling stems from a combination of policies to control air pollution
emissions, fuel switching particularly in power generation and increasing efficiency. NO
X
emissions fall by 30 and PM
2.5
emissions by nearly 15. However, the impact of air pollution on health persists, with the number of premature deaths
attributable to outdoor air pollution rising from 12 500 cases per year today to 15 500 in 2040, and those from household air pollution declining only modestly to
12 200 cases in 2040.
Mexico has the opportunity – using tried and tested measures – to make further
improvements to air quality beyond those seen in the New Policies Scenario. By promoting access to clean cooking and adopting more stringent emissions standards
in transport, the Clean Air Scenario leads to drastic improvements. The industry, power and transport sectors contribute to a 60 drop in total NO
X
emissions relative to the New Policies Scenario, while further success in providing access to clean
cooking helps to reduce PM
2.5
emissions by around 65. In aggregate, these reductions deliver significant health benefits: the number of premature deaths
associated with air pollution in the New Policies Scenario is halved by 2040, while the average life expectancy increases by almost two months in 2040 in the Clean Air
Scenario relative to the New Policies Scenario.
The energy and air quality context
Local air pollution has been a top priority for energy and health policy makers in Mexico since the early 1990s when Mexico City was cited as having the worst air quality of any city
in the world. This was the culmination of decades of industrialisation and urbanisation, which saw the urban population expand from around 12 million in 1950 to almost
100 million in 2015. But it also reflected the energy choices made to meet burgeoning demand: for example, by 1990, Mexico was still using oil to generate more than half of its
electricity.
© OECDIEA,
2016
142 World Energy Outlook 2016 |
Special Report
In response to a growing problem that was taking an increasing toll on public health, the government introduced a large number of policies and controls. The General Law of
Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection LGEEPA is the overarching legal framework for air quality improvement. It assigns responsibility for implementing
programmes to reduce emissions to the federal government, which operates by allowing local authorities to design their air quality programmes and submit them to the Ministry of
Environment SEMARNAT. The primary policy, PROAIRE, currently covers 13 metropolitan regions
– the ou try’s ajor ur a e tres. The o te t of ea h PROAIRE differs according to the region in which it was designed, but consistently contains three components:
Monitoring of pollutants.
Annual vehicle emissions testing with cars that fall below a certain standard permitted to be used on only 4-out-of-5 work days.
A contingency plan for periods of peak pollution that might include a rotating ban on private car use and require some manufacturing activity to cease on days of
particularly high pollution.
These programmes have had a significant impact: in Mexico City, sulfur dioxide SO
X
and nitrogen oxides NO
X
emissions are nearly three-times lower today than they were in 1992 Ireland, 2014.
Despite the i pro e e ts, a u er of Me i o’s largest ities still ha e
annual average PM
2.5 1
levels that far exceed the objective set by the World Health Organization WHO. The WHO guideline is a maximum of 10 micrometres µm per cubic
metre m
3
and both Mexico City and Monterrey average more than twice this level. This can be explained, in part, by the fact that three of its five largest cities, including Mexico
City, are at an elevation higher than 2 000 metres. At this altitude, atmospheric oxygen levels can be up to one-quarter lower than at sea level, contributing to the incomplete
combustion of fuels. This leads to higher particulate matter PM and carbon monoxide e issio s fro ars a d tru ks a d partially a ou ts for the fa t that Me i o’s tra sport
sector has a PM emissions factor that is double that of the OECD average. The government is well aware of the problem. In its climate pledge to COP21, Mexico highlighted air quality
as one major consideration underlying its targets. It has set one of the most aggressive targets in the world for reducing black carbon emissions a component of PM
2.5
, pledging to reduce such emissions by 51 by 2030 compared with a business-as-usual scenario. The
pledge also sets out a target to increase the share of low-carbon sources for power generation to 43 from 21 in 2015, which promises to reduce air pollution from the
power sector.
1
Fine particulate matter with particle diameter smaller than 2.5 micrometres.
© OECDIEA,
2016
Chapter 5 | Mexico
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