Mexico takes aim at auto emissions

Mexico is gearing up to limit imports of inefficient used cars, in a move that could herald a broader standard for national auto emissions, according to its Energy Ministry.

The Ministry said the move will serve to curb carbon emissions from exhaust pipes while slowing the accelerated ageing of its car fleet. It added that limiting the number of used cars dumped on the market would carry the additional benefit of bolstering the market for domestically produced vehicles.

Speculation is now mounting that the import limits, developed as part of a broader sustainable energy policy being created within Mexico, could be followed by a national auto emissions standard.

According to Reuters, a Mexican official said that the country would be likely to adopt fuel efficiency standards that would be compatible with those recently introduced in the US.

One of president Barack Obama's first moves upon taking office last January was to announce tougher fuel efficiency standards and instruct the Environmental Protection Agency to grant a waiver allowing a group of 13 states to impose their own exhaust emission standards.

Mexico is fast establishing itself as one of the developing world's leading players in the development of a low-carbon economy.

The government has announced plans to cut its carbon emissions 50 per cent by 2050 and has undertaken a number of steps to develop a green transport policy. Most notably, the Renault-Nissan Alliance signed an agreement with the Mexico City government in November, vowing to ship its zero-emission Leaf electric vehicle to the city ahead of anywhere else in Latin America. The Alliance will be shipping the vehicle this year as it prepares to market a full range of electrical vehicles by 2012.

Any Mexican vehicle emissions standard would also further increase pressure on the global auto industry to deliver greener vehicles. China already famously has more demanding exhaust pipe emission standards than the US and with other emerging economies considering tougher fuel efficiency rules, it appears that the global market for gas-guzzling vehicles is set to come under further pressure.