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Saturday, April 18, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Cold or Heat, A Disputed Roadmap to Leave Fossil Fuels Behind in COP30
The heat in the Hangar Convention Center of the Amazonia, in the northeastern Brazilian city of Belém, has reached the negotiation rooms of the climate summit. Over the past 72 hours, one of the most delicate and significant discussions of this climate meeting has been taking place: the path to progressively abandon the production and use of coal, gas, and oil.
The Uneven Race of Mexican Protected Areas against Climate Change
Ezequiel Sánchez, a 63-year-old Mexican fisherman, owes everything to the sea. “My life, my work, my family,” he says, pointing around his office, which is located just a block from the ocean in Puerto Morelos town, in the southeastern state of Quintana Roo, Mexico.
Heat and Government Omissions Fuel Fires in Mexico
“This issue has been spiralling out of control year after year. The first responders are the communities themselves. There is no information explaining what a wildfire is in our native language (Mixtec), not even a pamphlet or video that can be distributed”, indigenous language education student Estela Aranda tells IPS.
Mexico Experiments With Residential Solar Panels, But They Are Still Insufficient
Over the past four months, Mexican researcher Nicolás Velázquez has paid around US$23 for electricity, thanks to the photovoltaic system installed in his home in the northern city of Mexicali.
Energy Storage Has Yet to Take Off in Mexico
Researcher Edilso Reguera and his team began studying electric battery manufacturing in 2016, but in 2023, they ramped up efforts to develop a lithium-based prototype for motorcycles.
A Long and Winding Path to Revitalize Passenger Trains in Mexico
Retired blacksmith and mechanic José Hernández nostalgically recalls the passenger trains that once passed through his hometown of Huamantla in the state of Tlaxcala, southeastern Mexico.
Mexican Electric Vehicles Struggle to Accelerate
Mexico has seen several attempts at assembling electric vehicles (EVs), powered by rechargeable batteries, which have faced challenges related to industrial scale, supply chains, and competitiveness
Mexico’s New Economic Plan Lacks Energy
This January, Mexico has embarked on a new industrial path for the next six years, where the viability of its energy component faces fundamental challenges that put it at risk.
Violence Flows in Parts into Mexico from the United States
The case of a man arrested in Texas, in the south of the United States, for shipping arms parts to Mexico immediately caught the attention of authorities in both countries. But it was only one thread in a web that continues to become more and more tangled.
Maya Train: Still Waiting to Become Promised Engine of Development – VIDEO
When he promoted the Maya Train (TM) in 2019, then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who ruled Mexico between 2018 and October this year, stated that the railway line would be an engine of development for the southeastern Yucatan peninsula. 
Expansion of Mexico’s Largest Port Causes Alarm Over Environmental Damage
The expansion of the port of Manzanillo, Mexico's most important port in terms of cargo movement and located on the central Pacific coast, has major environmental impacts, as well as presenting climatic risks.
Maya Train is Yet to Deliver Promised Benefits
Indigenous craftsperson Alicia Pech doesn’t know about the Maya Train (TM), the Mexican government's most emblematic megaproject that runs through five states in the country’s south and southeast
Mayan Farmers Improve Their Livelihoods and Polyculture of Milpa in Mexico
María Bacab, a Native Maya, considers herself the “guardian of seeds” as she cares for the milpa - an ancestral Mesoamerican polyculture that mixes maize, beans, squash and other vegetables - and promotes its practice and use in Mexico.
Mexican Cooperative Promotes Energy Transition on Indigenous Lands
What began as a search for fair prices for indigenous handicrafts in 1985 has evolved into a women's organisation in Mexico that promotes climate justice while advocating for land and environmental rights.
Solar Panels Aim to Protect Mexican Family Farming
Verónica Molina, an indigenous Comcaac woman, first came into contact with solar energy in 2016, when she travelled to India for training on communal photovoltaic facilities. This later enabled her to take part in the installation of the first solar systems and family vegetable gardens in her community, Desemboque del Seri, in northern Mexico.
Mexican chinampas survive surrounded by threats
Mexican Crescencio Hernández orders radishes, herbs and lettuce for shipment to an alternative market in west-central Mexico City.
Climate Assemblies Seek Citizen Participation in Latin American Solutions
Danilo Barbosa had never taken part in political processes until his name was drawn in a lottery to join the climate assembly of the municipality of Bujaru, in the Amazon region of Brazil.
Hydrogen from Renewables or Fossil Fuels? The Panamanian Question
In 2021, the Panama Canal welcomed a French experimental ship on a world tour, the Energy Observer, the first electric vessel powered by a combination of renewable energies and a hydrogen production system based on seawater.
Mexico Struggles to Cut Emissions from its Ports
The port of Pichilingue, in northwestern Mexico, faces challenges in decarbonising its activities, as do other maritime infrastructures in the country, while its polluting emissions are increasing.
The Ups and Downs of Control of Transgenic Crops in Mexico
Mexico has taken important steps to protect native corn, even standing up to its largest trading partner, the United States, to do so. But the lack of a comprehensive legal framework in its policy towards genetically modified crops allows authorizations for other transgenic crops.
Inequality Also Afflicts Clean Energy in Latin America
The specter of blackouts hovers over the Mexican city of La Paz, the capital of the state of Baja California Sur in Mexico's far northwestern corner, as summer approaches, due to increased electricity demand from air conditioning and insufficient capacity in the local grid.Next Page »
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