US climate envoy John Kerry arrived in Mexico amid high tensions over Mexico’s plan to favour its state-owned electricity company and limit private and foreign firms that have invested in renewable energy.
According to AP report, Mexican President Andr s Manuel L pez Obrador has vowed to forge ahead with changes to Mexico’s power sector, increasing investment in fossil fuels while limiting private wind, natural gas and solar plants to a minority market share.
The U.S. Embassy in Mexico expressed concerns about that on the eve of Kerry’s visit.
The government of the United States has repeatedly expressed concern over Mexico’s current proposal for the energy sector, the embassy said in a statement. Promoting the use of dirtier, antiquated and expensive technologies over efficient renewable alternatives would put consumers and the economy in general at a disadvantage.
That was apparently a reference to L pez Obrador’s defense of dirty state-owned coal and fuel-oil power plants.
L pez Obrador sought to downplay the frictions Tuesday, saying there are opportunities for investment. The only thing we want to do at the same time is strengthen the CFE, Mexico’s state-owned Federal Electricity Commission.
The commission runs plants that burn coal or fuel oil produced by Mexico’s state-owned oil company. It also runs some solar, nuclear and hydroelectric plants.
The Mexican president is a big supporter of government firms and fossil fuels like oil. But he denied Mexico didn’t want clean energy, and suggested the United States might offer funding for his plans to increase Mexico’s hydroelectric power capacity.
The thing is to reach agreements with the U.S. government on investments … getting low-interest loans, at interest rates like they charge in the United States, that would be an investment in favor of the environment,” L pez Obrador said.
