Global IssuesUndertaking the Challenge of a Green Growth Pathway in Northern Mexico
MEXICO CITY, Dec 10 (IPS) - The northern Mexican state of Sonora seeks to position itself at the forefront in Mexico in the sustainable transformation of its economy. But it faces major challenges, such as greening its energy mix and relying less on mining, which is highly polluting and leaves little benefit to its public coffers.
This federal territory, one of the 32 into which this Latin American country is divided, has a Green Growth Strategy (GGS) and a State Action Plan on Climate Change for the State of Sonora, as well as a local risk atlas and a multisectoral advisory council.
The GGS, launched in 2017, is "quite good, it is a strategy with a vision of green growth that seeks economic growth, human development, social inclusion and productivity of natural resources and resilience to climate change," said Pablo Martinez, representative in Mexico of the intergovernmental Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI).
The expert explained to IPS that the decarbonisation of the economy is the area that has shown the most progress and highlighted the role of renewable energy sources, energy efficiency and sustainable mobility within the plan.
The Strategy was developed at the request of the Mexican government by the Seoul-based GGGI, created in 2012 with the aim of supporting developing countries in the South to establish a new economic model, based on green growth.
The GGS of Sonora, explained Martínez, includes 33 lines of action and its main objectives include the decarbonisation of the economy and energy independence, the inclusive innovative economy, the responsible use of materials and resources, and a resilient lifestyle.
It also contains 10 strategic themes, including renewable energy, sustainable mobility, water management and sustainable rural and urban development.
Economic activity in Sonora, the second largest Mexican state, with 189,055 square kilometers distributed among 72 municipalities inhabited by 2.85 million people, had a turnover of 30 billion dollars in 2016.
That production has left its ecological footprint. The latest available data shows that in 2010 the state released into the atmosphere 23 million tons of carbon dioxide. The largest emitters were energy (7.5 million), transport (6.5 million), agriculture and livestock (3.7 million) and industry (2.23 million).
The focus on the green economy has expanded widely throughout this decade. UN Environment defines it as an economy "that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. It is low carbon, resource efficient, and socially inclusive."
Within its GGS, in November 2017, the government of Sonora created a Green Growth Cabinet, which includes the ministers of Agriculture, Social Development, Economy and Infrastructure and Urban Development.
On Dec. 4, Sonora launched a Building Efficiency Accelerator programme, included in the GGS with the purpose of introducing new technologies in real estate planning to build more efficiently and reduce energy waste. Due to its dry climate, this state is the largest consumer of electricity for heating and cooling in the country.
Among other projects within the GGS, Sonora is about to receive between 568,000 and 1.13 million dollars in support from the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GIZ) and the C40 Cities Finance Facility, a network of 96 of the largest cities in the world against climate change, in order to structure a multimodal transport system that discourages the use of private vehicles.
In addition, Martínez explained, a pre-feasibility study is being drawn up for the production of biogas using agro-industrial waste, sponsored by the Danish Agency for International Cooperation and the energy ministry.
Another study being carried out is on pathways to deep decarbonisation by 2050, the first Mexican state to do so, with funds from the Washington-based World Resources Institute, a non-governmental organisation. A state environmental fund is expected to be set up by 2019, but it has no budget yet.
For Luis Carlos Romo, executive commissioner of the Commission for Ecology and Sustainable Development of the State of Sonora (Cedes), the new institutional structure and ongoing projects are achievements of the Strategy.
The official told IPS from Hermosillo, the state capital, that "the strategy aims to develop new motors of development. The main thing is to improve the quality of life of the people of Sonora, to strengthen social inclusion and reduce environmental impacts."
The state government, he said, submitted the GGS to a public consultation process in March and April in order to promote citizen participation and improve and broaden its objectives, but its implementation faces significant challenges.
Martínez, the GGGI representative, mentioned financing, governance, social inclusion and the gender perspective as central themes.
"There are obstacles to obtaining financing from development banks or foreign governments. The private sector must be more involved in the strategy. More institutional coordination is also needed. We see a great opportunity for the Strategy to be fulfilled; we don't want a plan that remains on paper," he said.
The GGS, he said, identifies challenges such as decreasing energy intensity and air pollutant emissions, strengthening the economic structure, ensuring the integrity of natural resources and decreasing the public's vulnerability to climate effects.
Abandoning mining
For the state, one of the primary challenges is the gradual abandonment of mining, as it is the largest Mexican producer of gold, copper, molybdenum, graphite and wollastonite.
The mining outlook report for the state of Sonora, prepared by the Mexican Geological Service, a government agency, says gold is mined in 12 municipalities, copper in six and molybdenum in two.
In late 2017, the state had 46 mines in operation and 96 projects in the exploration phase, with a total of 5,974 mining concessions covering 5.55 million hectares, 29 percent of its territory.
In 2014, a stream connected to the Bacanuchi and Sonora rivers was the scene of a 40 million-liter spill of sulfuric acid from the Buenavista del Cobre mine, owned by the private Grupo Mexico, in what was called Mexico's worst environmental disaster in modern times.
Energy transition
The sustainability of the energy mix is another major challenge, with 224 fossil-fuel-based power generators in operation. The state has strong potential for photovoltaic energy, due to its high level of solar irradiation, which is just beginning to be exploited, with 11 solar farms in operation or under construction.
In this regard, Romo, the head of Cedes, said that "we do not want to demonise any activity. The idea of the strategy is for traditional sectors, through innovation, to transform productive activities and have less environmental impact."
"We believe that the lever that is going to support the strategy in a very important way is investment in renewables, to export energy instead of importing it. If we achieve this transformation of discarding fossil fuels, we will be able to meet the targets," he explained.
The Sonora Risk Atlas includes seven municipalities that are highly vulnerable to climate change, so reducing emissions and adapting to the phenomenon are essential.
By 2030, Sonora has pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and short-lived climate pollutants by 25 percent, within the targets adopted in September with the Under2 Coalition, whose name alludes to the need to keep the rise in global temperatures to below two degrees Celsius to avoid irreversible catastrophe.
Created in 2015, the coalition is made up of more than 220 local and regional governments, including those of 16 Mexican states.
Sonora projects that its GHG emissions will peak in 2026, before reducing them by 80 to 90 percent by 2050. In the energy sector, it aims to generate 35 percent clean energy by 2024 and 43 percent by 2030.
© Inter Press Service (2018) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service