Mexico fails in clean energy

MEXICO. Mexico has no plans to phase out either fossil gas or coal, has been reducing support for new renewables and is a long way from decarbonizing its electricity supply, warns a Climate Action Tracker (CAT) report, presented yesterday.

In fact, the independent agency places Mexico in last place, along with Japan, in its assessment of 15 countries and the European Union on progress in adopting compatible measures to meet the goal of limiting global warming to a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius and in the use of coal, fossil gas and renewable energies to generate electricity.

The best performances were found in the U.K., Chile, Germany and South Africa. "Brazil could turn onto the right track if it repeals the Bolsonaro-era legislation," he notes. The report "Unplugging Fossils" indicates that, in coal and fossil gas use, Mexico is going in the wrong direction, while in renewable energies it is lagging behind.

It points out that coal provides about 10 percent of Mexico's electricity and that the country has no clear plans to replace the use of this fuel in the coming years: "To be compatible with the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal, Mexico would need to phase out coal in its electricity sector at least by 2030," it notes.

Meanwhile, he notes, fossil gas is the dominant source of electricity generation in Mexico and is responsible for more than half of its power. "Mexico has no plans to phase out fossil gas or commit to a decarbonized power sector," he says.

"It plans to add 6 GW more fossil gas capacity by 2026, up from 45 GW today, and anticipates that fossil gas-fired generation will continue through the 2030s." Mexico, it adds, needs to reduce its fossil gas generation by more than half by 2030, and achieve full phase-out by 2040 at the latest to be compatible with the 1.5-degree target.

The CAT report remarks that Mexico needs to generate at least two-thirds of its energy from renewable sources by 2030 to be compatible with the target, up from about one-fifth today.

"In recent years, Mexico has reversed policies that supported and incentivized the development of new renewable energy capacity by the private sector and, instead, has prioritized the modernization of existing national hydropower plants," he says. Colero... Shares of electricity generation from renewables. (By country in 2022) Brazil 88% Chile 59% Turkey 42% EU 39% Global 30% China 30% EU 22% India 22% MEXICO 18% Source: Climate Action Tracker