TRANSPORT IS THE MAJOR SOURCE OF EMISSIONS IN MEXICO CITY, GENERATING 51 MILLION TONNES OF CO2 IN 2000. THE CITY HAS AIR POLLUTION LEVELS WELL ABOVE WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION LIMITS. IN A CITY WHERE HOUR LONG TRAFFIC JAMS ARE NORMAL, TWO WHEELS ARE OFTEN THE BEST OPTION. SCHEMES HAVE RECENTLY BEEN INTRODUCED TO MAKE VEHICLES MORE EFFICIENT, AND THEREFORE MORE CLIMATE FRIENDLY. EVERY MONTH CAR DRIVERS HAVE TO QUEUE UP TO MAKE SURE THEIR VEHICLES MEET THE NEW EFFICIENCYSTANDARDS.
With transport the major source of emissions, I’m surprised by the failure to discuss encouraging non-motorized transport. Governments encourage walking and bicycling in the prosperous countries of Europe. Yet governments rarely encourage walking and bicycling in the developing world. And neither does The Climate Group.
The potential synergistic benefits for the planet and the health of the inhabitants — inactivity creates a lot of ill-health — needs to be exploited.
Major changes in Mexico City must be done. Corruption and bribery extends to any emission regulator system. Public insecurity makes easier to use a car instead of Public transport because you can get robbed on the streets. And the respect for pedestrians and bicycles is very low. I am a car free individual on the streets of this City but because of the last two reasons above I prefer to use a well-known taxi cab company.
relating to mr. jacobsen’s comment below, i agree that governments in developing countries don’t emphasize walking and cycling. it’s regarded as a measure of life quality, of development, of high life standard. governments in developing cnts are not concerned by how much to improve their peoples lives even more, but if anything how to improve them at all.
unfortunately, even this is mostly not the case. those governments still think towards profit (often through exploitation of their people), of making money, of becoming important economic players. life quality, e.g. encouraging cycling and walking, is a totally other dimension for them.
i would say that it is now more important to fight corruption, to build up a government that RESPECTS its people, to close the gap between rich and poor, and only then to think of cycling and walking.
there are some things that are more important at the moment.