Mexico City.– Mexico has no plans to phase out either fossil gas or coal, has been reducing support for new renewable energies and is very far from decarbonizing its electricity supply, warns a Climate Action Tracker (CAT) report presented this Tuesday .
In fact, it places Mexico in last place, along with Japan, in an evaluation of 15 countries and the European Union on progress in adopting measures compatible with meeting the goal of limiting global warming to a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius in terms of the uses of coal, fossil gas and renewable energies in electricity generation.
The evaluation locates the best performances in the United Kingdom, Chile, Germany and South Africa
“Brazil could turn towards the right track if it repeals the legislation of the Bolsonaro era,” he points out.
The report “Disconnecting fossils” indicates that in the case of the use of coal and fossil gas, Mexico is going in the wrong direction, while in renewable energies it is lagging behind.
It highlights that coal provides less than 10 percent of Mexico’s electricity and that the country has no plans to add more capacity for that fuel in the coming years.
However, he cautions, he has no clear plan to phase out existing infrastructure.
“To be compatible with the 1.5°C goal, Mexico would need to gradually eliminate coal in its electricity sector, at least by 2030,” he points out.
Meanwhile, he points out, fossil gas is the dominant source of electricity generation in Mexico, and is responsible for more than half of its energy.
“Mexico has no plans to phase out fossil gas or commit to a decarbonized energy sector,” he says.
“It plans to add 6 GW more fossil gas capacity by 2026, up from 45 GW today, and anticipates fossil gas generation to continue into the 2030s.”
Mexico, it adds, needs to reduce its fossil gas generation by more than half by 2030, with a total phase-out no later than 2040 to be compatible with 1.5°C.
CAT highlights that the Country also needs to generate at least two-thirds of its energy from renewable sources by 2030 to be compatible with the 1.5°C goal, compared to approximately one-fifth currently.
“In recent years, Mexico has backtracked on policies that supported and incentivized the development of new renewable energy capacity by the private sector and has instead prioritized the modernization of existing national hydroelectric plants,” he questions.
