Mexico joins the venture: Joint Implementation and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Joint Implementation (JI) and its pilot phase of Activities Implemented Jointly (AIJ) are envisioned as an economic way of reducing global emissions of greenhouse gases. This paper draws upon the Mexican experience with AIJ to identify Mexican concerns with AIJ/JI and proposed solutions to these. Three approved Mexican AIJ projects (Ilumex, Scolel Te, and Salicornia) are described in detail. The Ilurnex project promotes the use of compact fluorescent lamps in Mexican homes of the States of Jalisco and Nuevo Leon, to reduce electric demand. Scolel Te is a sustainable forest management project in Chiapas. Salicornia examines the potential for carbon sequestration with a Halophyte-based crop irrigated with saline waters in Sonora. These three projects are reviewed to clarify the issues and concerns that Mexico has with AIJ and JI and propose measures to deal with them. These initial Mexican AIJ projects show that there is a need for creation of standard project evaluation procedures, and criteria and institutions to oversee project design, selection, and implementation. Further JI development will be facilitated by national and international clarification of key issues such as additionality criteria, carbon-credit sharing, and valuation of non-GHG environmental and/or social benefits and impacts for AIJ projects. Mexico is concerned that JI funding could negatively impact official development assistance or that OECD countries will use JI to avoid taking significant GHG mitigation actions in their own countries. The lack of carbon credit trading in the AIJ stage must be removed to provide useful experience on how to share carbon credits. National or international guidelines are needed to ensure that a portion of the carbon credits is allocated to Mexico.