Environmental Brief – Mexico and Mechanisms for Environmentally Sustainable Developments

Mexico, as a party to the Kyoto Protocol, has taken steps to provide incentives to the business and public sectors to take advantage ofcredits and income offered by the Clean Development Mechanism (Mecanismo para un Desarrollo Limpio or MDL), which could generateannual income for Mexico of up to $330 million. The Intersecretarial Commission on Mexican Climate Change (Comisión IntersecretarialMexicana de Cambio Climático or CICC) has granted 184 Approval Letters for projects, of which 16 have already obtained CER’sEmissions Credit Certificates and 100 of which are in the process of obtaining such CER’s. The main areas in which projects are beingdeveloped include management of waste from cattle and hog farms; methane from sanitary landfills; and energy efficiency and co-generation projects. The cycle for developing an MDL project is not simple. Thus, it is important to have adequate technical and legalassistance to create the draft project, so that all required elements of the project are met by the Designated Operating Entity (EntidadOperacionales Designada or DOE). Subsequently, in the DOE’s review of the project, it is important to have an expert to confirm thetechnical and legal aspects of the project development plan in order to ensure the success of the project. Finally, it is important to obtain aProject Approval Letter (Carta de Aprobación del Proyecto) from the CICC, which is normally handled by an environmental expert whoprocesses such through the CICC, in order to avoid complications and project delays.