May 30, 2002—The Council of the Global Environment Facility, on May 17, 2002, agreed to contribute $6.125 million in grants for a 10-year project that will help improve the air quality in the Mexico City metropolitan area and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

The “Mexico: Introduction of Climate Friendly Measures in Transport” project will support the development of policies and measures to facilitate a long-term shift toward more efficient and less polluting forms of transportation in the Mexico City metropolitan area.  The project is part of a 10-year multi-sector air quality management program initiated by the metropolitan authorities.  

“This project is expected to have substantial benefits both locally and globally,” said Mohamed T. El-Ashry, CEO and Chairman of the Global Environment Facility. “Reducing human exposure to air pollution will improve public health indicators for Mexico City’s large population; the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions will benefit the global environment.  The project is intended to be a model that can be replicated in other large cities.” 

Between 1990 and 2000,  the metro and the bus systems of the Mexico City metropolitan area lost their share of the public transport market, having been displaced by smaller vehicles.  This gradual shift away from large capacity vehicles has added to traffic congestion and has resulted in higher emissions, causing air pollution with serious health and environmental consequences.  Moreover, the transport sector has become the Mexico City metropolitan area’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, contributing to global warming.

The Mexican authorities want to reverse this trend and to promote measures that will aid the shift from small inefficient vehicles to larger, more efficient and low emission vehicles such as the metro and full-size buses.  Accordingly, the government's transport sector strategy calls for the development of transport corridors for high-capacity, low-polluting vehicles.  

The GEF project aims to create a favorable policy environment for the shift to take place.  In addition, the project aims to integrate climate change issues into urban planning and decision-making in transport, air quality and urban development and to harmonize these strategies in order to promote the implementation of sustainable transport policies.  

The GEF was created in 1991 to channel multilateral funds into projects initiated by people in developing nations that create local and global environmental benefits. GEF aims to conserve biodiversity, reduce greenhouse gas emissions that lead to climate change, protect the ozone layer, clean up international waters, stop land degradation, and eliminate persistent organic pollutants.  GEF is the designated financial mechanism for international agreements on biodiversity, climate change, and persistent organic pollutants; GEF also supports the work of global agreements to combat desertification and protect international waters and the ozone layer.  GEF’s projects are implemented by multilateral agencies such as the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, and the United Nations Environment Programme.

 The only new funding source to emerge from the 1992 Earth Summit, GEF today counts 171 countries as members.  With the latest round of projects approved by the GEF Council, GEF has devoted $3.83 billion in financing for projects since 1991.

The full value of these projects, including co-financing from non-GEF sources, is $12.66 billion. 

The $12.2 million GEF project will be implemented by the World Bank.  The GEF allocation for the project is $6.125 million, including $325,000 in project development grants.  The project has leveraged $4.0 million of co-financing from the private sector while the Mexican authorities are contributing $2.4 million. This project is expected to be followed by a larger World Bank loan that will enable the construction of the transport corridors.

For more information please visit: http://www.gefweb.org/