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Mexican Center for Environmental Law (CEMDA) v. Mexico (on the Climate Change Fund) - decision

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Mexican Center for Environmental Law (CEMDA) v. Mexico (on the Climate Change Fund) - judgment

Filing Year For Action

The General Law on Climate Change in Mexico was issued in 2012. This law contemplated the Climate Change Fund, a public trust fund created to increase the existing resources to address climate change. According to article 80 of the Law, it had the objective of attracting and channeling public, private, national, and international financial resources to support the implementation of actions to address climate change. However, in 2020 the Mexican Congress reformed the Law and eliminated the Climate Change Fund. 
 
On December 17, 2020, the Mexican Center for Environmental Law (CEMDA) filed a complaint against the amendments, arguing among others, that it violates the constitutional right to a healthy environment. The plaintiff requested an injunction to suspend the effects of the amendments, asking the Court to stop the elimination of the Fund. The injunction was denied.
 
 However, the Judge considered that the reform did not restrict the exercise of any right. The Judge argued that the reform did not disappear the funds to address climate change, it only reallocated the resources on to the Federal Expenditure Budget. Therefore, the Court decided the case against CEMDA, considering it did not violate the right to a healthy environment. CEMDA appealed the decision before a Collegiate Tribunal. 

In August 2021, the Tribunal decided, due to the relevance of the case, to send the appeal the Mexican Supreme Court. The Supreme Court’s decision is still pending.

On April 12, 2023, the Supreme Court decided that it is not up to the judges to evaluate whether a public policy, in a broad sense, is suitable to fulfill a specific purpose, since these decisions correspond to the executive and legislative branches of government. Considering that the modification of the strategy to combat climate change (to extinguish the Climate Change Fund and transfer that budget directly assigned to the Environmental Secretariat) is a matter of public policy, this modification cannot be analyzed by judges. Legislators have ample freedom to determine the mechanisms they deem appropriate to direct the policy to combat climate change. 

Furthermore, it was determined that it was not demonstrated that the Fund’s resources, after the modification, will not be used in a correct, transparent and equitable manner.

Therefore, the Judge’s decision was confirmed, and the claim was denied.

Mexican Center for Environmental Law (CEMDA) v. Mexico (on the Climate Change Fund)

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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

A long-lived, colourless gas, chiefly emitted from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation and cement production.

A subsidy is a direct or indirect payment to individuals or businesses, typically provided as a government cash payment or a specific tax reduction.

Terrestrial means "of the earth" and relates to the risks to ecological system that includes all living organisms and their interactions within land-based environments, such as forests, grasslands, and deserts.

Any compulsory, unrequited payment to the government levied on corporations or individuals. This can be for environmental reasons, such as introducing a Carbon tax to set a price that emitters must pay for the greenhouse gases they emit.

Actions or measures to adapt terrestrial systems to climate change.

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

A drought is an extended period of unusually dry weather marked by a significant and sustained lack of precipitation, falling below a specific threshold over a large area for more than a month

Activities involving the catching, processing, and selling of fish for food, recreation, and industry.

Financial actors and resources that are primarily directed towards climate change mitigation, adaptation and compensation.

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

A tax advantage is an economic benefit applied to certain accounts or investments that are, by law, tax-reduced, tax-deferred, or tax-free. This can apply to investments in areas such as green energy projects or the agricultural sector, where tax advantages can help manage financial risks.

The activities of industries involved in the production, distribution, and sale of energy, including electricity, gas, and renewables.

Activities that provide lodging, food, and entertainment services to guests, including hotels, restaurants, and resorts.

Financial support to help individuals manage the effects of unexpected events, securing their livelihoods and increasing the resilience of people and businesses to the changing climate. It’s especially vital in developing regions where everyday risks, climate-related weather extremes, or crop failures can push people into poverty. Without insurance, people may have to resort to selling assets or cutting consumption to cope with losses.

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.

Actions and measures to adapt and increase resilience of societies and the economy to climate change.

Activities that relate to the production of goods and services from forests.

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

People who are less able to respond to the effects of climate change due to having limited financial or physical assets

People who have left their homes, whether through force, voluntarily, or a mixture of both

Activities that involve the cultivation of crops and raising of livestock for food, fibre, and other products essential for human life and industry.

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

Activities that involve planning, designing and building infrastructure, residential, and commercial structures.

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

Activities of government agencies and institutions that provide public services, enforce laws and manage public resources.

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

This sector involves activities that impart knowledge and skills to individuals, including formal schooling, vocational training and educational support.

Extreme weather refers to events where a weather variable exceeds (or falls below) a threshold. Meaning it is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern.

Mexican Center for Environmental Law (CEMDA) v. Mexico (on the Climate Change Fund) - decision

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance