Remaking Transport and Power Generation Key to Mexico's Green Shift
Mexico's energy is dominated by fossil fuel consumption within its own production and transport sectors, requiring a national strategy focused on efficiency, displacing natural gas with cleaner sources like nuclear, and transitioning transportation to electric to achieve a sustainable future.
More than half of Mexico's energy might is consumed not by homes or industry in the traditional sense, but within the very arteries of its energy sector itself – the production and processing of oil and gas, alongside electricity generation. This striking inefficiency, coupled with a deep-seated reliance on fossil fuels, presents both a formidable challenge and a significant opportunity as the nation contemplates a cleaner energy future, according to a prominent voice in Mexican energy circles.
Francisco Barnés de Castro, former rector of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), recently addressing a centennial celebration for chemical engineering in Mexico, laid bare the country's energy predicament. He emphasized that the most fertile ground for reducing energy consumption and pivoting towards cleaner alternatives lies squarely within the operations of state-owned oil giant Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) and the strategic decision to cease burning fuel oil for electricity.
