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Mexico · Emissions trading system

Mexican Emissions Trading System (pilot program)

Mexico's ETS began a pilot program in January 2020 with free allocation and no monetary sanctions. Rules for the operational phase have not been published, so the pilot rules remain in force; the environment ministry (Semarnat) said in September 2026 that it would issue definitive rules by early 2027.

In rulemakingsince 1 Jan 2020Verified 4 Oct 2026

The Mexican ETS, the first in Latin America, covers direct CO2 emissions from fixed sources in the energy and industry sectors emitting at least 100,000 tCO2 a year — about 30% of national greenhouse gas emissions and 90% of emissions reported to the National Emissions Registry (RENE). Its pilot was set up by an agreement published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación establishing the preliminary bases of the Pilot Program.

The pilot was set to run for 36 months, from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2022 (a pilot phase in 2020–2021 and a transition phase in 2022), with free allocation and no economic effects. Because the operational-phase regulation has not been published, the pilot regulation remains in force; according to ICAP, non-compliance consequences are limited to losing the ability to bank allowances and receiving fewer allowances in the first operational allocation.

Legal journey

From proposal to operation

  1. Enacted

    General Law on Climate Change published; in force 10 October 2012

    dof.gob.mxOfficial
  2. Enacted

    Climate law reform published, providing for an ETS preceded by a 36-month pilot

    dof.gob.mxOfficial
  3. Rulemaking

    Agreement setting the preliminary bases of the ETS pilot program published

    dof.gob.mxOfficial
  4. Rulemaking

    Pilot program starts without economic effects; its rules stay in force pending operational rules

    dof.gob.mxOfficial

Each milestone links to the page it was checked against. Dates are given only to the precision the source supports.

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