Mexico Elections 2018: What is the environmental policy of the presidential candidates?
Do you know what candidates propose in environmental matters?
Despite the current relevance of the environment and the planet, candidates for the presidency of Mexico have not focused their proposals on this issue. In fact, last April, a series of environmental organizations, through a regional campaign that seeks to analyze the candidates' proposals in various Latin American countries #LACVotaSustentable, carried out an evaluation of the proposals of the candidates with support from the Climate Finance Group for Latin America and the Caribbean (GFLAC), noting their concern about the lack of interest of the candidates in the environmental issue.
Leer en español: México elecciones 2018: Conozca la política ambiental de los candidatos presidenciales
This initiative has been mobilized in social networks in order to inform the voters, so that the citizens themselves demand from the candidates and the government in turn the adoption of environmental policies that, among other things, pretend to:
- Mitigate and adapt the effects of climate change
- Comply with the national and international commitments adopted by the country in the Paris agreement and the General Law of Climate Change of Mexico
- Strengthen the management plans of the 120 Protected Natural Areas at the Federal Level
For this reason, in LatinAmerican Post we will briefly present the candidates' proposals for the presidency regarding the environment.
What environmental policies do the candidates propose?
ANDRÉS MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR (AMLO)
On June 6, 2018, the candidate of the "Juntos Haremos Historia" (Together we will make history) coalition presented the manual Naturalmo, a 22-page booklet where he explains in detail and clearly his proposals in relation to the environment.
- Water: AMLO indicates that he will make conservation efforts of the systems that are sources of water with a comprehensive approach regulation, to guarantee the right to water to all the inhabitants of the country.
- Biodiversity: the candidate indicates that he will promote a model of conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity that involves the communities. In order to have healthy and productive ecosystems, he will prevent the sowing and introduction of genetically modified species. In addition, AMLO will carry out a policy that allows a sustainable use of natural capital to reduce inequality.
- Climate change: AMLO indicates that he will take the actions to comply with the existing regulation on the subject. He will do it through political infrastructure and sufficient budget that recognizes the owners of forest territories that capture carbon, promotes the development of renewable energy sources, and allows having an emissions market that promotes local development and reduces the economic inequality.
- Cities: the candidate of "Together we will make history" points out that these must be sustainable, for which it is required to update the regulations that allow the permissible levels of pollutants and solid waste, the issuance of vehicles, and that promote public transport and not motorized mobility.
- Environmental Justice: AMLO states that its government will guarantee the rights of the indigenous communities, promoting their self-management and control of their territories. This will be done by conducting social and environmental impact assessments in the early stages of any project to understand the risks and challenges, and implementing the regional treaty on "access to Information, Public Participation and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters for America." Latina. "
- Finally, he explains the issue of coasts, seas and islands, where he states that it will ensure a management program and sufficient resources for the conservation of these areas. AMLO will continue with the actions of ecological restoration of the islands, will create agreements between the dependencies of the federal government dedicated to fishing and agriculture, tourism, the development of infrastructure and the environmental sector, and will limit the fixed constructions that may cause damages to the coasts
JOSE ANTONIO MEADE
The candidate of the Coalition Todos por México (All for Mexico), has exposed on its official website, six key points that will guide his environmental policy. These are the following:
- Water: Indicates that he will implement public policies to avoid wasting food and water. This policy will shorten the value chains between producers and the final consumer. In this way, poverty will be reduced in terms of prices and food. It also indicates that he will support Food Banks.
- Clean energy: Meade indicates that he will expand access to a clean energy matrix in homes and industry, bringing gas to the most marginal communities, lowering the intensity of carbon in the industry to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and eliminating deforestation completely with soil conservation programs that generate employment in rural areas.
- Nature Reserves: Meade also proposes the promotion of sustainable tourism, recreation, and research with National Parks through the creation of financial and budgetary mechanisms that ensure the protection of nature reserves. In this way, it is expected to ensure the preservation of biological and ecological capital and access to tourist enjoyment, recreation, and research. The candidate states that he will generate well-paying jobs with community companies that encourage the development of sustainable, equitable, and inclusive tourism.
- Urban areas: The candidate of the Coalition proposes the application of the concept of smart cities with quality services. To do this, he will make the planning of cities mandatory to make them sustainable, orderly and with good connectivity through clean public transport. Waste will be converted IGNORE INTO energy for public services such as lighting or new collective transport systems. There will be an intelligent public lighting system that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, supported by banking, which will prepare financial packages that allow this transition in both rural and urban areas. Finally, he indicates that it will update the regulation on vehicle and industry pollution to recover the air quality of the cities.
- To achieve a development of clean energies, he points out that he will attract investments for more than 550 billion Mexican pesos and the jobs they imply.
- All of the above, supported by the education and preparation of children and young people so that they value Mexico's natural resources as a megadiverse country.
RICARDO ANAYA
The candidate of the Coalition Mexico Al Frente (Mexico Up Front) points out on his official website that he presented his environmental proposals to the civil community, especially NGOs, so that they can be built them together. It is noteworthy that the candidate committed to mitigate the carbon footprint generated by his candidacy and committed to having a non-reactive policy with a long-term perspective. Although the document with the proposals was not found directly, the following are highlighted below:
- The candidate has indicated that he will develop clean and sustainable environmental companies that contribute to the economic development of the country. For this, he will strengthen the institutions, in such a way that they promote the rational use of resources with strategic environmental assessments, pollution limits, waste management, and healthy conditions for workers. It hopes to encourage at least a third of SMEs to have solar energy.
- Anaya has affirmed the support for international agreements such as the Paris Agreement and the agreement on biodiversity, proposing an increase of 5% of the goal established in the General Law on Climate Change, so that the energy matrix through clean energy will be of 35%, as well as their goal of reaching 40% of distributed solar energy.
- Finally, he has spoken about non-motorized and electric mobility, which it seeks to promote through fiscal and financial incentives.
Latin American Post | María Paula Cardoso
Translated from "México elecciones 2018: Conozca la política ambiental de los candidatos presidenciales"
