Environment at a Glance: Mexico
Table of contents
The OECD Environment at a Glance Country Notes are designed to support transparent, evidence-based information. They provide concise and descriptive overview of progress across major environmental issues, including climate, air quality, freshwater resources, waste and the circular economy, and biodiversity conservation. They feature selected environmental indicators, building on harmonised datasets available on OECD Data Explorer. Differences with national data sources can occur due to delays in data treatment and publication, or due to different national definitions and measurement methods. See the Reader’s guide to the Environment at a Glance Country Notes for more information.
Mexico is one of the largest and most populated economies in the OECD. However, living standards remain below the OECD average and regional disparities are significant. The informal sector continues to play an important role in the economy. International trade is a major driver of economic activity and while medium-technology still dominate exports of goods, the share of higher technology and more sophisticated goods has been increasing. Population density is relatively high, particularly in the central states.
The western and eastern Sierra Madre shape the topography of northern Mexico. Between these mountain ranges lies the Mexican plateau (altiplano), while numerous valleys in its southern part were formed by ancient lakes. These varied geophysical conditions support a wide range of vegetation types. The country is home to an estimated 10-12% of global biodiversity and is recognised as one of the world’s megadiverse countries. Forests, soil, water and fisheries contribute significantly to economic development and livelihoods. Mexico is also endowed with abundant fossil and renewable energy and remains a net exporter of crude oil.
Despite a relative decoupling during 2014-19 between real gross domestic product (GDP) growth, energy use and production-based (i.e. produced within the territory) carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, they have been growing again in parallel since. The per person production-based and demand-based (or footprint, i.e. including emissions incorporated in imported goods) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are well below the OECD averages and have remained relatively stable during 1996-2020, reflecting Mexico’s comparatively low energy use per person and lower reliance on energy-intensive manufacturing relative to many OECD economies.
The main sources of GHG emissions are transport, energy industries, and agriculture. The land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector is an important carbon sink, although interannual variations occur due to forest fires, land conversion and changes in forest management practices.
Mexico has substantial resources of oil and natural gas. Its energy mix is largely dominated by fossil fuels, accounting for 90% of total energy supply in 2025. In 2022, it was the world’s fifteenth net exporter of oil, though production has fallen sharply over the last decade as a result of declining output at the main producing field, Cantarell, in the Gulf of Mexico. Natural gas production has followed a long-term downward trend since peaking in 2009, despite some temporary fluctuations (PEMEX, 2024[1]).
The shares of renewables in the energy mix and electricity production remain low by OECD standards.
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 Organization threshold of 5 µg/m3. Regional differences are also large, from 10.7 µg/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.
There is no data available on the connection rates to wastewater treatment and on the levels of treatment.
There is a lack of data on municipal waste generation and treatment. According to the latest available year (2022), the amount of per person municipal waste, at 307 kg per person, was well below the OECD average, though virtually all of it was landfilled and only a small fraction recycled. In Mexico, a significant share of recycling activities is still carried out by informal waste pickers operating outside formal waste management systems.
Domestic material consumption (DMC) and material footprint are low, between 11 and 12 kg per person per year, but material footprint per person has not declined in the past 20 years, while DMC per person has increased. Material productivity has also decreased and remains below the OECD average.
Mexico is one of the world’s megadiverse countries and centres of domestication and origin of cultivated plants. According to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, in 2011, over a quarter (29%) of Mexican territory has lost its natural ecosystems while the remaining portion (71%) is characterised by different levels of conservation. Also, the natural vegetation that remains is impacted by significant degradation processes (SEMANART, 2018[2]).
Forests occupy a bit more than 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 Global Biodiversity Framework (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 is marginal with respect to GDP, peaking at 1.5% in 2016. Energy tax revenue in Mexico is driven mainly by the excise tax on fuels, which is composed of a fixed positive and variable rate. Rising international energy prices turned the tax's variable component negative between 2006 and 2014, resulting in an implicit fuel subsidy and negative revenue. Following the 2014 energy reform, fuel prices were progressively liberalised, contributing to a recovery in revenues.
In total, 38.2% of GHG emissions in Mexico were subject to a positive Net Effective Carbon Rate1 (ECR) in 2023. Explicit carbon prices in Mexico consist of carbon taxes, which cover 38.2% of GHG emissions in CO2 equivalent. Fuel excise taxes, an implicit form of carbon pricing, covered 16.9% of emissions in 2023. About 16% of GHG emissions have a Net ECR above EUR 60 per tonne of CO2 equivalent, 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 research and development (R&D) budget has decreased to just above 1%. On the other hand, the share of renewables in public energy research, development and demonstration (RD&D) is relatively high, at 24.5% in 2025.
Mexico is a negligible player in environmentally related inventions, with less than 1 invention applications per million inhabitants in at least two jurisdictions by Mexican residents. The share of environmentally related technologies in total inventions is close to the OECD average, but representing very low numbers of inventions.
International development co-operation is a key component of Mexico’s foreign policy, which aims to address global challenges and advance prosperity in line with the 2030 Agenda. Mexico has a dual role as a provider and a beneficiary of development co-operation, with transparency, results-orientation and effectiveness its core principles. Its co-operation is focused on Central and Latin America as well as the Caribbean, and is expanding towards Asia-Pacific and Africa (OECD, 2026[4]).
References
[5] CBD (n.d.), Country profiles: Mexico, https://www.cbd.int/countries/profile?country=mx.
[4] OECD (2026), 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] PEMEX (2024), Statistical Yearbook 2024, https://www.pemex.com/en/investors/publications/Anuario%20Estadstico%20Archivos/Statistical%20Yearbook%202024.pdf.
[2] SEMANART (2018), Informe de la Situación del Medio Ambiente en México, https://apps1.semarnat.gob.mx:8443/dgeia/informe18/tema/cap2.html.
Further reading
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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← 1. Effective Carbon Rate (ECR) is the sum of fuel excise taxes, carbon taxes and tradeable permits that effectively put a price on carbon emissions. The Net ECR equals the ECR minus fossil fuel subsidies that decrease pre-tax fossil fuel prices.