Mexico's first female president pledges to boost renewable energy and limit oil production

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - MEXICO CITY — In her early days as Mexico’s new president, Claudia Sheinbaum has taken a firm stance on distancing her administration from the fossil fuel-heavy policies of her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and has vowed to reignite the country’s energy transition.

"We are going to boost renewable energies. The goal is that by 2030, they will account for 45% of total electricity production," Sheinbaum declared in her first public speech in Mexico City's Zocalo square, shortly after being sworn in as the country’s first female president.

While her energy transition plan is still short on specifics, the shift in rhetoric marks a stark departure from López Obrador’s pro-fossil fuel agenda. The former president, who invested more than $20 billion in a new oil refinery and halted renewable energy auctions, had positioned himself as a staunch defender of oil.

In contrast, Sheinbaum announced plans to unveil an "ambitious energy transition program" focused on reducing greenhouse gases and mitigating climate change. However, she also emphasized her commitment to strengthening state-owned energy companies like Pemex and the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), which rely heavily on fossil fuels.

Experts noted the significance of the president's new language. “The terms ‘sustainability’ or ‘renewable energy’ never really appeared in López Obrador’s policies,” said Rosanety Barrios, a former official at the Mexican Energy Regulatory Commission. “Sheinbaum, on the other hand, uses them consistently.”

Sheinbaum's promise to achieve 45% clean electricity by 2030, up from 24% in 2023, is an ambitious target that could help Mexico meet its Paris Agreement commitments to combat climate change. López Obrador’s energy policies had led to Mexico’s downgrading by Climate Action Tracker to “critically insufficient” in its efforts to meet global climate goals.

In her speech to Congress, Sheinbaum also announced Mexico’s first-ever limit on oil production, setting a cap of 1.8 million barrels per day. This is significantly lower than the 2.6 million barrels per day that López Obrador initially targeted. “It is better to promote efficiency and renewable sources,” Sheinbaum argued, noting that Mexico's oil fields are nearing depletion.

Despite her focus on renewable energy, Sheinbaum has vowed to strengthen Pemex and never publicly criticized López Obrador’s decision to build the Dos Bocas refinery. Experts say Mexico's oil production is unlikely to increase without significant investments in fracking or deepwater exploration, both of which the country has rejected.

Sheinbaum’s experience in energy policy aligns with her rhetoric. Holding a PhD in energy engineering, she was part of the UN panel on climate change that won a Nobel Prize in 2007. However, analysts caution that her success may hinge on navigating Mexico’s current legal framework, which López Obrador reformed to favor state-controlled energy generation. — Agencies