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Citizens vs Data Protection and Enforcement Agency (INAI) - decision

Litigation

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Filing Year For Action

On January, 2023, the plaintiff filed a request to Mexico's Data Protection and Enforcement Agency (INAI) to gain access to Pemex Logistics (part of Mexico's state-owned oil company) Methane Emissions Diagnosis, a document that the entity was required to present before the National Agency for Industrial Security and Environmental Protection in the Hydrocarbon Sector (ASEA) detailing, among other information, the quantity of the methane emissions it generates.

The INAI denied the request, arguing that the information in the Diagnosis contained classified information for national security concerns, as well as trade secrets. 

On September 28th, 2023, the plaintiff filed an amparo suit against this decision, arguing that the information contained in the Diagnosis should be public because it constitutes environmental information. On February 7, 2024, the 11th District Court in Administrative Matters in Mexico City denied the request and confirmed INAI's decision. 

On February 20, 2024, the plaintiff appealed the District Court's decision. The case was sent to the Fifth Circuit Court of the First Circuit, which asked the Supreme Court to decide the case due to its constitutional relevance on August 7, 2024. 

Justice Alfredo Gutiérrez Ortiz Mena delivered the opinion of the First Chaber of the Supreme Court on May 14, 2025, agreeing with the lower court. The Court partially upheld INAI's decision. It ruled that information contained in the Diagnosis that involved the "methods, processes, justification, and location of oil wells and the type of equipment" used by Pemex Logistics was classified for national security reasons. The Court considered that article 110 of the Federal Law for Transparency and Access to Public Information provides a list of grounds under which information can be classified, one of which is national security purposes. The Guidelines for classification and declassification of information specify that any information that could enable the sabotage of strategic infrastructure can be classified under national security considerations. The Court considered that the Diagnosis contained information on the type of equipment used by Pemex Logistics and the location of oil wells. This could enable sabotage. As such, considering that Mexico's Constitution considers the hydrocarbon sector as "strategic activities".

The Court also upheld the decision, finding that the Diagnosis contained information on the "calculating method, the base year of the diagnosis, the number of oil wells, as well as the justification for the methods employed," which constituted a trade secret. 

Lastly, the Court overturned the decision regarding the information in the Diagnosis, which details the total amount of methane emissions generated by each oil well or piece of equipment. The Court found that this information did not compromise national security and was not a trade secret. It also specified that the release of this information translated into accountability since it could allow the public to assess whether Mexico was fulfilling its commitments under the Paris Agreement and the joint declaration made in 2016 with the governments of Canada and the United States pledging to reduce methane emissions by between 40 and 45% by 2025.

Citizens vs Data Protection and Enforcement Agency (INAI)

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

This sector involves the wholesale and retail selling of goods.

Slow onset events evolve gradually from incremental changes over many years or from increased frequency or intensity of recurring events. As defined in the Cancun Adaptation Framework (2010), slow onset events include risks and impacts from rising temperatures, desertification, biodiversity loss, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and salinization.

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A target to reduce the prevalence of a greenhouse gas over a specific time frame

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

This sector includes firms and individuals offering specialised expertise in fields such as law, accounting, consulting, science and engineering.

Conditions that enhance the feasibility of adaptation options. Enabling conditions include finance, technological innovation, strengthening policy instruments, institutional capacity, multi-level governance and changes in human behaviour and lifestyles.

A company that is owned wholly or partially by the state, typically operating in key sectors.

Activities of businesses and institutions that provide financial services and products to individuals and organisations.

This sector creates and distributes information and entertainment through television, radio, print, and digital platforms.

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

A potent, short-lived greehouse gas, largely released from livestock, fossil fuel extraction and waste management.

The release of heat-trapping gases, primarily from human activities such as burning fossil fuels, agriculture and industry.

This sector involves activities to move goods and people, alongside the storage of products.

Social inclusion is the process of improving the terms on which individuals and groups take part in society—improving the ability, opportunity, and dignity of those disadvantaged on the basis of their identity.

The processes through which enterprises can identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how they address their actual and potential adverse impacts. Due diligence is the idea that reasonable precautions should be taken to avoid causing harm to people, the environment, or society. It also involves identifying and mitigating risks before they occur.

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.