Monday, June 11, 2012
Mexic0
Promulgates its new General Law on Climate Change
Presidency
of the Republic
President Felipe Calderón signed the decree
of the General Law on Climate Change. In his message, he highlighted that Mexico was one of the first developing countries
to have a national strategy to confront climate change, which was presented in 2007 and was complemented with a Special Program
for Climate Change, which dates from 2009.
Furthermore, he said that
Mexico had advanced 87 percent on ceasing to emit 44.5 million tons of carbon dioxide with respect to its goal of reducing
51 million this year.
The President stated that by signing the decree into law, Mexico placed itself in the vanguard
worldwide in environmental legislation, since the standard provided for national goals in both mitigation and measures for
adaptation to climate change. He then explained the four main aspects of the decree:
- It implements the treaties and protocols to which Mexico is a party, and harmonizes the country's regulations
with the advances in international negotiations and agreements.
- It defines
a new institutional framework, for it establishes the concurrence of the three levels of government through the National Climate
Change System (SNCC). Also, the Inter-Ministerial Commission on Climate Change is raised to the level of law, which will be
assisted by the Climate Change Council; and the National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change (INECC) is created.
- It has two guiding themes. With regard to mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, regulatory
instruments are established (the National Inventory of Emissions; and the National Register of Emissions), as well as economic
instruments (voluntary system of trade in emissions permits, that is, carbon bonds market; as well as the Climate Change Fund),
for compliance with emission reduction goals. Thus, Mexico pledges to reduce its emissions by 30 percent toward 2020; as well
as 50 percent toward 2050, in relation to emissions in 2000. With regard to adaptation measures, the law establishes diagnosis
instruments, such as the National Atlas for Risk, by 2013, or the creation of urban planning instruments and natural disaster
prevention.
- It guarantees that the national climate change policy will
be subject to periodic appraisal by an independent council made up of representatives of the scientific community, private
initiative and civil society.
To conclude his participation, the
President noted that Mexico was already a key player in the world struggle against climate change, and also that the law guarantees
following the path toward green growth and towards a more competitive economy that preserves our natural wealth for coming
generations.
----------
Press
Release: Presidency of the Republic, Jun. 5, 2012, Mexico City; translation Presidency of the Republic
