Méx. Mexico
In 2019, Greenpeace Mexico filed an injunction against the Program for Addressing Atmospheric Environmental Contingencies in the Metropolitan Area of the Valley of Toluca and the Metropolitan Area of Santiago Tianguistenco (hereinafter the Program), issued by the Ministry of the Environment of the Government of the State of Mexico, arguing that it violates the human right to a healthy environment by failing to comply with the Official Mexican Standards NOM-020-SSA1-2014 “Environmental Health. Permissible limit value for the concentration of ozone (O3) in ambient air and criteria for its evaluation”, and NOM-025-SSA1-2014 “Environmental Health. Permissible limit values for the concentration of PM10 and PM2.5 particles in ambient air and criteria for their evaluation”, and with the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) since it establishes more lenient values for ozone and PM10 and PM2.5, to declare the preventive phase and the phase of environmental contingency.
Initially, a District Court granted Greenpeace Mexico an injunction ordering the Ministry of the Environment of the State of Mexico to issue a report comparing the values contained in the Program with those of NOM-020-SSA1-2014 and NOM-025-SSA1-2014, as well as the WHO guidelines. This report would aim to "establish whether these values meet the parameters for determining whether air quality is good or bad, and to establish preventive measures for controlling and reducing pollutants." Furthermore, the Court determined that if the Program failed to comply with the aforementioned standards, the defendant authority should "submit the report to the competent authority for evaluation of the suitability of the challenged agreement in order to preserve the environment."
The Greenpeace organization appealed the first instance ruling through a review appeal, which was resolved by a Collegiate Court that modified the resolution ordering the defendant authority to issue a new agreement that regulates the Program or, if applicable, modifies the values established therein, taking as a reference those contemplated in the standards NOM-020-SSA1-2014 and NOM-025-SSA1-2014.
Implementation
On February 18, 2022, the Program for Attention to Atmospheric Environmental Contingencies in the Metropolitan Area of the Valley of Toluca and the Metropolitan Area of Santiago Tianguistenco was published in the Gazette of the Government of the State of Mexico.
In its considerations, this program claims to adhere to current federal environmental regulations, taking special consideration to NOM-025-SSA1-2021 and NOM-020-SSA1-2021.
While the defendant authority was complying with said sentence, the standards NOM-020-SSA1-2014 and NOM-025-SSA1-2014 were updated through agreements published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on October 28 and 27, 2021, respectively.
The second instance ruling states that "climate change is a global challenge that does not respect national borders, much less state or municipal ones [...], since it is a problem that requires the international and national community to work in a coordinated and specific manner" and that climate change can have serious impacts not only on human well-being, but also on biodiversity, highlighting that "30% of plant and animal species could be at risk of extinction."
Furthermore, it states that Mexico signed and ratified the Paris Agreement, "making it binding on the Mexican State since its entry into force," and is linked to adopting measures to mitigate greenhouse gases such as tropospheric ozone. In this regard, the Court determined that "it is evident that the challenged action, regarding its limit value, must be at least in accordance with the Mexican Official Standard NOM-020-SSA1-2014, especially since it is part of the obligations that the Mexican State assumed upon signing the Paris Agreement."
- Greenpeace Mexico.
- Ministry of the Environment of the Government of the State of Mexico.
The State of Mexico comprises 125 municipalities, within which five indigenous groups reside. The Toluca Valley metropolitan area, made up of 22 municipalities, and the Santiago Tianguistenco metropolitan area, consisting of 4 municipalities, account for 15% of the population. An increase in particulate matter smaller than 2.5 and 10 micrometers (PM2.5, PM10) and tropospheric ozone has been recorded, exceeding the maximum permissible limits established in the Official Mexican Standards.
Standards
- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
- Paris Agreement.
- American Convention on Human Rights.
- Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Protocol of San Salvador).
- Advisory Opinion 23/17, of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, on the Environment and Human Rights.
- Political Constitution of the United Mexican States.
- General Law of Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection.
- Biodiversity Code of the State of Mexico.
- Official Mexican Standard NOM-020-SSA1-2021, Environmental Health. Criteria for evaluating ambient air quality, with respect to ozone (O3).
- Official Mexican Standard NOM-025-SSA1-2021, Environmental Health. Criteria for evaluating ambient air quality, with respect to suspended particles PM10 and PM2.5.
Beginning:
- Access to information.
- Pro persona.
- Caution.
- In dubio pro natura.
- Progressiveness.