Mexico (México)

1. Introduction

Mexico is a country at high risk due to climate change. The Mexican population lives in coastal zones prone to floods due to its position in a middle zone that’s susceptible to hurricanes between the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic; negative impacts on production industries, such as agriculture; and due to the fact that the majority of the population (52%) is considered to be at an economic level that insufficiently supports basic necessities (CONEVAL 2021) makes the total population vulnerable. Mexico joined the Paris Agreement in 2015 and that same year published their first NDC at a national level, representing their support in 2020. 

In the last few decades, there has been more consideration towards the importance to execute plans to mitigate climate change by considering a gender perspective, the wellbeing of vulnerable populations, and the opinions of the nation’s youth. Therefore, the main objective of the document is to analyze the last version of the Mexican NDC from a feminist and youth perspective, while considering the following four components: emissions, gender equity, youth, and native peoples.

2. Emissions

The Mexico NDC has three sections: Introduction, Adaptation, and Mitigation. In the last section, Mexico mentions its commitment to reduce emissions. In the most recent NDC, Mexico repeats language in the current NDC as they did in their 2015 NDC, which implies the document has not been properly updated. Based on the available language, the Mexican government commits to reduce greenhouse gasses by 22% and black carbon by 51% by 2030. In a “business as usual” scenario, they mention that these figures could be better, 36% and 70%, respectively, should they receive financial support from the international community. The unconditional figures mentioned above have not undergone changes based on the first NDC from 2015, in which a reduction of greenhouse gases of 25% (ClimateWatchData 2015), only 3% less than that planned, occurred. This occurrence is considered a less ambitious goal (NewClimate Institute 2020). Regarding the black carbon reduction figures, these did not change at 51%, as reflected on both NDCs. Generally speaking, the lack of ambition in these figures goes against Article 4.3 of the Paris Agreement, which mentions that countries must show progress based on their last NDC, and must reflect ongoing ambition to reduce emissions.

Regarding mitigation, it is mentioned that certain financial sectors, such as transportation, electricity, energy, and oil & gas have different approaches, including the implementation of political figures, governmental actions, sustainable practices within energy practices, and others. However, these ideas are confusing in the NDC since there is no specific plan on how to achieve these goals, giving the appearance that while there is knowledge regarding how to solve these problems, there is no actual intention to create policies or actions to fulfill a concrete and favorable result.

Institutions like Climate Analytics & NewClimate Institute via the Climate Action Tracker (2021) have analyzed other country’s NDCs based on the following classifications: Critically Insufficient, Highly Insufficient, Insufficient, Almost Insufficient, 1.5° C Paris Agreement Compatible – the last being the ultimate goal to reach. Mexico has been classified as Insufficient since the methods available within their NDC would ultimately increase temperatures by 3°C. Mexico shares this classification with other countries like Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, The United States, Kazakhstan, Peru, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

According to a report from the National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change (INECC, Spanish abbreviation), a Mexican agency, regarding the NDC costs in Mexico, implementing the NDC proposals made by the country is more profitable financially, than continuing with a “business as usual” scenario. This implementation would reduce CO2 levels by 1,520 million tons. 

3. Gender Equity 

Creating solutions for climate change with a gender perspective is crucial for obtaining inclusive results which will benefit the entire population. The NDC itself does not have a section specific to gender equality. However, in different sections and paragraphs in the text, it is mentioned that the Mexican government recognizes and ratifies its commitments to implementing an NDC focused on gender equality, intersectionality, and human rights with the purpose of including women. Additionally, it is recognized that women have more limitations when it comes to access to financial tools, education, or capacity building, reducing their ability to adapt to climate change and putting them further at risk.

In the third section of the NDC, in relation to Mitigation, some action items are dependent on the 5th sustainable development goal: gender equality. The document specifically mentions eight action items:

1. Identifying vulnerable regions

2. Adaptation in communities or settlements

3. Improving alerts in case of climate emergencies

4. Evacuations due to climate change

5. Zero rate of net deforestation

6. Strengthen environmental policy tools

7. Guaranteeing access to water

8. Strengthening financial tools for public access

Although there is mention of actions to be taken for gender equality, there is no specificity on how these will be integrated. Nowhere in the NDC is there mention of anything related to the Gender Equality sustainable development goal. Author Ivonne Vizcarra Bordi (2008, p.1) mentions that “…food security and gender are topics insolvable against structural violence which contains a relationship to power, asymmetry, and hierarchy in local processes…” She also believes women in Mexico and Latin America face serious obstacles imposed when trying to avoid going hungry and/or fulfilling their responsibilities to keep their families fed.

According to a document from the United Nations Development Program (UNDO, 2018) that lists 29 key principles to include in an optimal and gender-inclusive NDC, upon analyzing the Mexican NDC, there are only 4 principles included from the UNDP list:

1. Recognize inclusion principles, respect for human rights, social equity, and intergenerational equity

2. Recognize the vulnerabilities regarding gender and climate change

3. Recognize gender-differentiated needs

4. Include responsive gender goals related to mitigation

When not considering even 50% of the key principle established by UNDP, the Mexican NDC cannot be considered gender inclusive.

Certain principles must be included in the NDC to correct the lack of gender inclusivity, such as:

1. Including gender equity as one of the transversal axes

2. Recognizing women’s participation in the creation and implementation of policy

3. Proposing the inclusion of experts in gender in the process of designing climate action

4. Including the different impacts and vulnerabilities based on gender

NDCs with a gender perspective are paramount since these actions affect cisgender women and the LGBT+ population.

The deficiencies present in the NDC can be due to gender bias, such as sexism, which is divided in different ways according to author Margrit Eichler (2013). For example, androcentrism is defined as the perception the world has based on a male point of view where women are seen as passive objects and are not included in decision making, in this case, related to climate change; the overgeneralization where only one gender is considered, but the results are applied to the entire population without considering vulnerable groups; and the insensitivity of any one gender in which gender is excluded and ignored socially, as are their necessities. The fact that these gender biases are present in society will influence various institutions, such as the government, which will be reflected in documents like the NDC and fail in gender inclusivity.

4. Youth

Including youth in designing and implementing the NDC is imperative as these are the generations who will live with the consequences of climate change. In the Mexican NDC, a generalization is made regarding youth in the Adaptation section, which was incorporated in the NDC between March 2019 and November 2020. However, there is not enough information available about this topic.

When speaking to analyst Jorge R. Martinez, he commented that in 2020, the country’s youth met with those authorities responsible for the finalization of the Mexican NDC and they proposed various different changes from a youth perspective. Unfortunately, this was not reflected in the 2020 NDC, proving that youth were not taken seriously or considered by the Mexican government.

5. Indigenous People

Mexico is home to 68 indigenous groups throughout the country, the majority are concentrated in southern regions (Secretaria de Gobernacion, 2021). The Mexican NDC includes these indigenous communities in the introduction, identifying them as a vulnerable group against climate change. Additionally, the Mexican government communicates its commitment to implement the NDC, recognizing indigenous people’s knowledge parallel to scientific data. However, these key points are limited to the language of the NDC since there are no specifics on how this will be executed or accomplished.

Within the Adaptation section, social groups among indigenous and afro-Mexican communities are located in vulnerable zones of poverty and marginalization. The NDC also mentions that traditional indigenous knowledge could be used to recover and heal biocultural landscapes. 

Finally, regarding Adaptation, the Mexican government recognizes that biodiversity is part of indigenous communities, and these are fundamental to the absorption of CO2. Indigenous communities are mentioned throughout the NDC with concrete objectives, but there is no information on how these objectives will be achieved. There is also no information on how these communities will be included or even protected from the effects of climate change.

6. References

1. Climate Analytics & NewClimate Institute. (2021). Climate Action Tracker. Disponible en línea en: https://climateactiontracker.org/countries/

2. ClimateWatchData. (2019). Washington, D.C.: World Resources Institute. Disponible en línea en: www.climatewatchdata.org.

3. CONEVAL. (2021). Líneas de Pobreza por Ingresos, febrero 2021 Emergencia sanitaria de la COVID-19. Disponible en línea en: https://www.coneval.org.mx/Medicion/Documents/Lineas_de_Pobreza_por_Ingresos/Lineas_de_Pobreza_por_Ingresos_COVID_feb_2021.pdf

4. Eichler, M. (2013). Nonsexist research methods: A practical guide. Routledge.

5. INECC. (2018). Costos de las Contribuciones Nacionalmente Determinadas de México, Medidas Sectoriales No Condicionadas, Informe final.

6. Naciones Unidas, Cambio Climático. (2021). El Acuerdo de París. Disponible en línea en: https://unfccc.int/es/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/el-acuerdo-de-paris

7. NewClimate Institute. (2021). Cologne, Germany. Disponible en línea en: https://newclimate.org/2021/07/08/ndc-design-report/

8. Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo. (2018). Elementos claves para incluir la igualdad de género y el empoderamiento de las mujeres en las políticas climáticas y las contribuciones determinadas a nivel nacional.

9. Secretaría de Gobernación. (2021). Programa Especial de los Pueblos Indígenas 2014-2018. Disponible en línea en: https://dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5343116&fecha=30/04/2014

10. Vizcarra Bordi, I. (2008). Entre las desigualdades de género: un lugar para las mujeres pobres en la seguridad alimentaria y el combate al hambre. Argumentos (México, DF), 21(57), 141-173.