Experts Question Mexico’s Emissions Pledge Amid US Trade Spat

One of the highlights of the highly anticipated UN climate change convention last week was the ambitious emissions targets announced by Mexico, delivered proudly by the nation’s foreign secretary Marcelo Ebrard alongside US special presidential envoy John Kerry.

There’s just one problem. Energy experts don’t see Mexico’s pledge to reduce carbon emissions by 35% in 2030 as indicative of a policy shift, but rather political maneuvering in a protracted trade dispute with its northern neighbor.

Under the leadership of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, known as AMLO, Mexico has increasingly shifted toward a more fossil fuels-heavy energy policy ...