MEXICO CITY (AP) 鈥� In her first days as Mexico鈥檚 new president, Claudia Sheinbaum made a point of distancing herself from the fossil fuel reliance promoted by her predecessor and mentor, Andr茅s Manuel L贸pez Obrador, and vowed to resume an energy transition that he halted.
鈥淲e are going to boost renewable energies. The goal is that by 2030, they will have a 45% share (of total electricity production),鈥� she said Tuesday in her first public speech in the capital鈥檚 Zocalo square, shortly after being sworn in as the country鈥檚 first woman president.
Specifics are still scant, but her speech marks a sharp departure from the energy policy of former President L贸pez Obrador, a fierce defender of fossil fuels who, among other things, spent more than $20 billion to build a new oil refinery and stopped the auctions that had allowed developers to build solar and wind farms in the country.
The president said in the coming days she will unveil an 鈥渁mbitious energy transition program鈥� aimed at 鈥渢he reduction of greenhouse gases that cause climate change.鈥�
Yet Sheinbaum has also promised to strengthen the nation's Federal Electricity Commission, which owns older plants that mainly burn fossil fuels, and state-owned oil company Pemex.
Even without specifics, experts and environmentalists said the change in rhetoric was notable.
鈥淭he terms 鈥榮ustainability鈥� or 鈥榬enewable energy鈥� really never appeared,鈥� in L贸pez Obrador鈥檚 policies, said Rosanety Barrios, who worked for more than a decade at the Mexican Energy Regulatory Commission. 鈥淗e didn't use the term in any speech, in any document. And she has been using it all the time.鈥�
During her campaign, Sheinbaum repeatedly promised to promote renewable energy to meet an increasing demand for electricity, due in part to rising temperatures from climate change. In a speech to Congress, also on Tuesday, with L贸pez Obrador sitting a few steps from her, the promises seemed more tangible.
The goal of reaching 45% clean electricity by 2030 is well above the 24% it represented last year, according to the Ministry of Energy. If achieved, Mexico would be back on track to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, which seeks to keep the global average temperature to no more than two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
The energy policy promoted by L贸pez Obrador led Climate Action Tracker, an organization which evaluates the actions countries take to comply with the Paris Agreement, to downgrade Mexico鈥檚 rating to 鈥渃ritically insufficient.鈥�
In her speech to Congress, the president also announced what would be the country鈥檚 first ever limit on oil production 鈥� 1.8 million barrels per day. All crude oil in Mexico is produced by Pemex, and that amount is approximately what the company produced in 2023 on an average day.
It is far less than the 2.6 million barrels per day L贸pez Obrador promised at the beginning of his term.
Sheinbaum recalled that more than a decade ago, a 2013 energy reform promoted by then President Enrique Pe帽a Nieto proposed production of 3 million barrels per day. 鈥淭hat is environmentally impossible,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t is better to promote efficiency and renewable sources.鈥�
At the same time, however, Sheinbaum has vowed to 鈥渟trengthen Pemex鈥� and she never criticized the building of the new Dos Bocas refinery, paying several visits to it with L贸pez Obrador.
Experts said Mexico would not be able to increase oil production using current methods, because its fields are getting tapped out.
鈥淢exico has ten years of oil left at its current rate of production, which is modest. Mexico is almost out of oil,鈥� said Adrian Fernandez, who holds a PhD in environmental science from Imperial College London and directs the Mexico Climate Initiative, a think tank.
But Fern谩ndez nevertheless praised Scheinbaum's words 鈥渂ecause it means she is not going to try to increase oil production.鈥�
Mexico would have to invest significant money either in hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, or deepwater exploration to increase production beyond current levels, he said. Up until now, the country has rejected both of these.
Fern谩ndez also said Sheinbaum鈥檚 speech is 鈥渢otally consistent with her experience and knowledge.鈥� The president has a PhD in energy engineering and degrees in physics, and was part of the United Nations panel of experts on climate change that won the Nobel Prize in 2007.
This week, Sheinbaum saw firsthand the havoc that climate change is wreaking in Mexico. On Wednesday, on her first trip as the country鈥檚 leader, she visited Acapulco, in the southern state of Guerrero, to assess the damage caused by Hurricane John, which struck the coast first as a hurricane and then again as a tropical storm last week.
The storm left a trail of devastation while the city was still recovering from last year鈥檚 Hurricane Otis. The strengh of both hurricanes was turbocharged by rising ocean temperatures due to global warming.
But the big question is whether the new president will be able to achieve her goals within Mexico鈥檚 current legal framework. Before leaving office, L贸pez Obrador pushed through a constitutional reform that strongly favors the Federal Electricity Commission.
On one hand, Sheinbaum has supported that legal change and promised the state will keep control of 54% of electricity generation. On the other, she has committed to reopening private investment in renewable energy, stopped by L贸pez Obrador to favor the state-owned CFE.
鈥淔rom my point of view, the biggest problem Claudia has is legal uncertainty,鈥� Barrios said.
鈥� The Associated Press鈥� climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP鈥檚 for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at .
Teresa De Miguel, The Associated Press
