UN Division for Sustainable Development

Case Study Detail Record

Organization type:	Government

Name of Ministry/Agency:

Country:	Mexico

Initiative Title:	Inspection/maintenance (I/M) program for gasoline vehicles in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area.

Internet links:	http://http;//www.ine.gob.mx http://www.sma.df.gob.mx

Scope:

Status:	Completed

Timeframe:	Start: End:

Lead Institution:	National Institute of Ecology (INE Instituto Nacional de Ecolog��.

Stakeholders/Partners:	Metropolitan Environmental Commission (CAM, Comisión Ambiental Metropolitana) Secretariat of the Environment for the Federal District (SMA Secretaría de Medio Ambiente del Distrito Federal) Mexican Automotive Industry Association (AMIA; Asociación Mexicana de la Industria Automotriz) Secretariat of Ecology for the State of Mexico (Secretaría de Ecología del Estado de México)

Relevent issues:	- Policies and programmes to address air pollution from other major point sources

Objectives/Challenges:

The goal of this initiative was to develop an incentive through the I/M program to motivate the automobile manufacturers in Mexico to introduce better emission control technologies in the models destined for the national market in the short term.

Lessons Learned:

AMIA found that the cost of adopting a new standard would be too high, that regulatory efforts should concentrate on old vehicles, that altitude and fuel quality played against more stringent standards.

There are instruments other than mandatory standards that can be used to motivate technological and environmental change.

Summary:

In 1997, Mexican emission standards for gasoline light duty vehicles lagged more than ten years behind the standards in the US. Mexican environmental authorities were interested in closing the gap between US and Mexican emission standards and introduce new and already available technologies in Mexico. Car manufacturers argued that this could not be achieved before 2001.

The I/M test was mandatory for all automobiles (new and used) in the MCMA every six months. A waiver from this requirement was established by which all 1999 & 2000 model-year vehicles meeting TIER I-equivalent emission standards would be relieved from the mandatory I/M procedure for two years.

All new 1999 automobiles met TIER I emission specifications. The standard was finally published in 2001. The I/M program has promoted a rapid renovation of the vehicle fleet in the MCMA, allowing emissions from this source to drop in the past years. It is currently being revisited to analyze if a similar approach can be undertaken to promote the introduction of TIER 2 emission controls.