Mexican President, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador | Photo: Archive
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Thursday rejected the findings of a report from the US Department of Energy that warns of a 65% increase in the country’s emissions if the government’s electricity reform is approved.
“With all due respect, they have no information on what is going on in Mexico,” Lopez Obrador declared at his morning press conference in Mérida, Yucatan, in southeastern Mexico.
The president referred to the report leaked to the press by the Washington Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) on constitutional reform for the energy sector that López Obrador sent to Congress on September 30.
The study projected a 26% to 65% increase in Mexico’s carbon emissions, a 32% to 54% increase in electricity generation costs, and an 8% to 35% increase in the likelihood of blackouts, if possible. Supports Lopez Obrador’s constitutional proposal.
“It’s wrong (the result of the report) and it doesn’t make sense, it looks metallic,” the president stated.
Lopez Obrador’s electrical reforms are causing controversy because they provide at least 54% of electricity generation to the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), a state company, and independent power regulators are disappearing.
It is also nationalizing lithium and changing electricity transmission standards to always prioritize hydroelectric and fossil fuel plants in CFE over private wind and solar plants.
Businessmen have warned about violations of the treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada (T-MEC), but Lopez Obrador stressed Thursday that the concerns are for national companies.
“No worries (in the US),” he replied to a frank question.
The president revealed that he sent a letter to the President of the United States, Joe Biden, to confirm his government’s position in combating the climate crisis “to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and help stop the problem of global warming.”
Although he argued that he was still unable to view its content because he did not know if Biden had actually read it, he emphasized that the letter responded to suggestions in the DOE report.
“We pledge to produce clean energy, as I don’t know whether he has already received the letter or not, and he cannot disclose it now, it is not the most appropriate,” he said.
The president reiterated that the state and the CFE will benefit from hydroelectric power stations which he considers to produce “the cheapest and cleanest energy”.
