Mexico’s Participation in Negotiations on Climate Change, 1988-2006

In this article, Diana Ponce Nava addresses the subject of international negotiations on climate change, which, between 1988 and 2006, have resulted in the creation of an international legal framework to respond to this complex problem, whose scope is not yet fully understood by governments and the inhabitants of our planet. The author provides an overview of the progressive development of the rules of international environmental law, which are the basis for the legal framework to deal with climate change and which gave shape to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol. The adoption of the UNFCCC and its protocol is a paradigm of the evolution of international law —which was formerly of a merely declaratory nature, entailing no quantifiable responsibilities— because it stipulates obligations and compliance dates for the commitments undertaken by the states party to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. An analysis of Mexico’s contribution to 18 years of negotiations on environment-related legal instruments is provided, in addition to a discussion of the reforms and adjustments made within the country’s public administration with a view to drawing up and enforcing domestic policies that facilitate compliance with the commitments undertaken by the country in the international arena. By way of conclusion, Ponce Nava underlines the limitations Mexico will face in its efforts to promote the development of international environmental law and the opportunities we will be afforded to make further contributions in this area.