This country note features selected environmental indicators from the OECD Core Set, building on harmonised datasets available on OECD Data Explorer. The indicators reflect major environmental issues, including climate, air quality, freshwater resources, waste and the circular economy, and biodiversity. Differences with national data sources can occur due to delays in data treatment and publication, or due to different national definitions and measurement methods. The OECD is working with countries and other international organisations to further improve the indicators and the underlying data.
Environment at a Glance: Mexico
Mexico is among the most populated and largest economies in the OECD. It covers an area of almost 2 000 million km2 (including around 5 000 km2 of islands) in North America. The gap in living standards between Mexico and the rest of the OECD remains. The informal sector continues to play an important role and regional disparities are high. International trade plays an important role in the economy. While medium-technology exports still dominate goods exports, the share of high technology and more complex goods has been increasing. Population density is relatively high, in particular in central states.
The western and eastern Sierra Madre define the topography of northern Mexico. Between these two ranges lies the Mexican high plateau (altiplano). On the southern altiplano numerous valleys have been formed by ancient lakes. Geophysical factors are reflected in a wide range of vegetation types. Almost one-third of the territory is wooded (half temperate, half tropical). Mexico is home to 10-12% of the world's biodiversity: it is one of several “mega-diverse” countries in the world. Exploitation of natural resources – forests, soil, water and fisheries – has had a very important role in Mexico’s economic development. Mexico is endowed with abundant energy resources, both fossil and renewable, and is still a net exporter of crude oil.
Despite a relative decoupling during 2014-19, between real GDP growth, and energy use and production-based CO2 emissions, they are growing again in parallel since.
The per person production-based and demand-based (or footprint) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are well below the OECD averages and have remained relatively stable during 1996-2020.
The main sources of GHG emissions in Mexico are energy industries, transport and agriculture. The land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector is an important carbon sink.
Mexico has substantial resources of oil and natural gas, and its energy mix is largely dominated by fossil fuels, 89% of total energy supply in 2023. In 2022, it was the world’s fifteenth-leading net exporter of oil, though production has fallen sharply over the last decade as a result of declining output at the country’s main producing field, Cantarell in the Gulf of Mexico. Natural gas production started to decline in 2011 (OECD, 2023[1]).
The shares of renewables in the energy mix and electricity production remain low compared to the OECD averages.
Available data show that air emission intensities both per person and per unit of GDP are above the OECD averages.
Population exposure to PM2.5 concentrations is much higher than the World Health Organisation threshold of 5 mg/m3. Regional differences are also large, from 10.7 mg/m3 in Baja California Sur to 17.2 in Mexico City.
Mexico is not a water-rich country and suffers from medium to high water stress, which is increasing over the years. Gross abstractions for public supply are also high and stagnant.
Connection rates to wastewater treatment have been increasing but remain below OECD standards, at 67.5% in 2021. The level of treatment is unknown, due to a lack of data.
There is a lack of data on municipal waste generation and treatment. According to the latest available year (2012), the amount of per person municipal waste, at 360 kg/person/year, was well below the OECD average, though most of it was landfilled and only a small fraction recycled.
Domestic material consumption and material footprint are low, between 10 and 12 kg/person/year, but they have not declined in the past 20 years. Material productivity has also stagnated.
Mexico is distinguished as one of the world’s megadiverse countries and centers of domestication and origin of cultivated plants.
According to a study conducted by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) in 2011, over a quarter (28.7%) of Mexican territory has lost its natural ecosystems while the remaining portion (71.3%) is characterized by different levels of conservation. Also, the natural vegetation that remains is impacted by significant degradation processes (CBD, 2022[2]).
Forests occupy a third of the land used, while permanent meadows, pastures and cropland about half.
The shares of terrestrial and marine protected areas are in line with the OECD averages, but More efforts are needed to reach the 2030 GBF target (under the Convention on Biological Diversity) of protecting 30% of terrestrial and inland water areas, and of marine and coastal areas.
This section shows selected policy instruments based on data available for most OECD countries and does not provide a complete overview of countries’ policy mix to achieve their environment-related objectives. Interpretation should consider the country specific context.
The share of environmentally-related revenues are marginal with respect to GDP, peaking at 1.5% in 2016. Similar to most OECD countries, total revenues and the tax base is consisting mostly of energy, and transport.
In late 2014, Mexico eliminated the direct support it provided for the consumption of gasoline and diesel fuel through the IEPS, the country’s floating excise tax. Previously, variable rates of IEPS were set by the government based on international prices for the country’s two grades of gasoline, Regular and Premium (low-octane and high-octane gasoline, respectively), and diesel fuel. When international reference prices for these fuels were above (below) the national set prices, IEPS rates would turn negative (positive), thereby generating a tax expenditure (tax revenue). As part of the reform, the Federal Government steadily increased retail prices monthly to reduce the support conferred to consumers. Since January 1st, 2019, the fiscal stimulus mechanism changed, to comply with the objective of keeping prices from increasing in real terms, and to mitigate their volatility; when the international price is lower than the internal price target. However, when international prices are increasing, as was the case in late 2021, this can result in certain subsidies being reintroduced, despite overall revenue gains for the government. The government introduced additional support measures since 2020 to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the global energy crisis (OECD, 2023[1]).
In total, 38.2% of GHG emissions in Mexico were subject to a positive Net Effective Carbon Rate (ECR) in 2023. Explicit carbon prices in Mexico consist of carbon taxes, which cover 38.2% of GHG emissions in CO2 eq. Fuel excise taxes, an implicit form of carbon pricing, cover 16.9% of emissions in 2023. About 16% of GHG emissions have a Net ECR above EUR 60 per tonne of CO2 eq., a mid-range estimate of current carbon costs. Net ECRs are highest in the road transport sector, which accounts for 16.7% of the country's total GHG emissions. The Net ECR is on average zero in the other GHG emissions sector. The other GHG emissions sector accounts for 37.4% of GHG emissions (OECD, 2024[3])..
After an increase during 2002-07, the share of environmentally-related government R&D budget has decreased to just above 1%. On the other hand, the share of renewables in public energy R&D is relatively high, at 25.9% in 2023.
Mexico is a negligible player in environmentally-related inventions, with less than 1 invention per person by Mexican resident. The share of environmentally-related technologies in total inventions is on par with the OECD average, but represents very low numbers of inventions.
Mexico’s international development co-operation promotes a comprehensive set of social, economic and environmental activities in line with the 2030 Agenda. The Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID) co-ordinates the federal government’s international development co-operation and is responsible for establishing the necessary mechanisms and tools to plan, monitor and evaluate development activities, with transparency, results-orientation and effectiveness as its core principles. (OECD, 2025[4]).
References
[2] CBD (2022), Country profiles: Mexico, https://www.cbd.int/countries/profile?country=mx.
[4] OECD (2025), Development Co-operation Profiles, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/development-co-operation-profiles_04b376d7-en/mexico_d55d3494-en.html.
[3] OECD (2024), Pricing Greenhouse Gas Emissions 2024: Gearing Up to Bring Emissions Down, OECD Series on Carbon Pricing and Energy Taxation, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/b44c74e6-en.
[1] OECD (2023), OECD Inventory of Support Measures for Fossil Fuels: Country Notes, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/5a3efe65-en.
OECD (2013), OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Mexico 2013, OECD Environmental Performance Reviews, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264180109-en
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