Mexico to set climate targets

Mexico plans to adopt caps on greenhouse gas emissions next year for the first time, joining a club of rich nations leading the fight against climate change, according to its environment minister.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon will rule in February on a binding cap on carbon emissions from cement and oil refining, and an "aspirational" goal to halve national greenhouse gases by 2050, the environment ministry said in a statement.

The country would drive the industry sector cuts by launching a cap and trade carbon market by 2012, subject to the President's approval, the statement added.

Under such schemes, a fixed quota of emissions permits is issued to industry and companies are allowed to trade permits among themselves. A price cap would prevent carbon prices imposing excessive costs, in the Mexican case.

"(We extend) an open invitation to other countries of the South, to create collective work to help tackle this problem," said Mexican Environment Minister Juan Elvira.

Developing nations say rich countries are most to blame for global warming and should act first. Rich countries do not want to harm their competitiveness during an economic recession.

South Africa has committed to peak its greenhouse gases emissions by 2025. But most developing countries want to see rich nations do more before adopting caps.

Mexico is a member of the OECD club of richer countries, but is classed as a developing country under the Kyoto Protocol on global warming and so it does not have to cap its carbon emissions under the treaty from 2008-12.

Curbing energy use would save money as well as cut carbon, said Mexico's deputy environment minister Fernando Tudela.

"Our work is aimed at proving we can decouple our emissions from our economic growth," he said.

"We are ... submitting to the President in days, weeks ... an absolute goal to halve emissions by 2050, an aspirational goal. Remember we are developing, so we are talking about no-lose targets."

That 2050 target depended on aid from developed countries, for example as grants or soft loans.

"We need financial support which is multilateral, scaleable. We cannot rely on donations from ODA (overseas development assistance). We need some large-scale thinking," said Mr Tudela.

Binding caps would curb emissions by 2020 by up to nine per cent from the cement sector and 11 per cent from oil refining, and about twice that in the event of a new climate treaty and more financial help.