*Editor’s Note: This article is a part of Dímelo’s efforts to report on environmental sustainability
Mexico elected its first woman president over the summer in June. While her impact on the country still remains to be seen, President Sheinbaum’s environmental plans have the potential to create real change. Sheinbaum comes from a family of scientists and educators. Her mother, Annie Pardo Cemo, is a biologist and professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the top university in Mexico. Her father, Carlos Sheinbaum, is a chemical engineer. With such influence from her family, Claudia Sheinbaum went on to attend UNAM in Mexico City and majored in physics. She went on to obtain her master’s and doctorate from her alma mater with a focus on energy engineering. Her doctoral research took place at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and had a specific focus on energy consumption in Mexico in comparison with other industrial countries.
Her political career took off when she was appointed the secretary of the environment of Mexico City by former president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) in 2000, according to CNN. Her role mainly entailed overseeing the transportation system in Mexico City. After her six-year term, she returned to UNAM as a faculty contributor due to her scientific research on the mitigation of climate change in the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) fourth and fifth assessment reports. The publication of the fourth assessment in 2007, granted the scientists who worked on the United Nations IPCC the 2007 Nobel Prize for Peace.
Her environmental background was present throughout her other political positions. When she became elected mayor of a district in Mexico City, she spoke on the importance of water rights, advocated for environmental issues and improved the public transportation system. During her time as district mayor, she sought to expand rainwater collection, address waste management and began a reforestation program.
Now, as elected president of Mexico, Sheinbaum has continued to push for an energy transition away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy through national subsidies. During her campaign, she mentioned her commitment to generating 45% of Mexico’s electricity from renewable resources by 2030, according to the Associated Press. Currently, this goal is observed as ambitious since it is a significant number from that of the current 24%.
Along with this, during her presidential inauguration speech, Sheinbaum mentioned her plans to produce an electric vehicle (EV,) Olinia, that is completely manufactured in Mexico. This EV is said to enter the market at about $25,000 dollars which is significantly lower than the prices of other electric vehicles, according to Mexico News Daily. The president hopes that with this affordable price, more drivers who are seeking a more environmentally friendly vehicle will not stray away due to the high cost of most of these vehicles. Additionally, she hopes that this project will employ more energy and environmental engineers from Mexico, who are hoping to advance the field of environmental sustainability and renewable energy.
Sheinbaum’s advocacy for the energy transition, environmental issues and sustainable development, along with her past political career, suggests that she will take action. This will set Mexico as a potential climate leader, as well as fellow Latin American countries. Currently, Chile is committed to the Glasgow Zero Emission Vehicle Pledge, according to NPR, and committed to ending the use of coal power by 2040, according to Climate Investment Funds.
Similarly, Brazil along with Mexico, has the largest greenhouse gas emissions in Latin America. This could mean that a path towards a cut in greenhouse emissions and the energy transition in Mexico can also be a feasible method for Brazil. Currently, Brazil is still working on its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) which highlight the contributions of each country to reduce global warming temperatures below 1.5 degrees Celsius per the Paris Agreement.
In an increasingly warm world, it is necessary for climate leaders, especially those in countries such as Latin America that are being significantly impacted by climate change, to act with urgency. From the Andes mountains to the largest rainforest and the rich coastal communities, it is important to preserve Latin America’s unique biodiversity.