Emissions of CO2 from fisheries: analysis of reductions achieved through a national program focused on the artisanal fleet in Mexico

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe sustainable achievement of low-carbon economies is at the heart of the Paris Climate Change Agreement. Government policies are expected, at the country level, to be designed and implemented in support of this commitment. This paper reports on reductions in CO2 emissions achieved by an ongoing federal program in Mexico focused on artisanal or small-scale fisheries (SSFs). Launched in 2008, this technological change-focused program substitutes old two-stroke outboard motors with fourstroke ones, which offer more efficient gasoline consumption and also reduce CO2 emissions. The program's annual emissions reduction target is 0.2% of the total annual national target of 83.2 million tonnes in CO2 emissions reductions, according to the 2014–2018 Special Climate Change Program in Mexico (known by its Spanish acronym, PECC). Based on primary-source information gathered from SSFs through fieldwork at the national level for the period 2008–2015, the reductions achieved in gasoline consumption produce a cumulative reduction in CO2 emissions of 1.274 million tonnes (37%) from 20,733 substituted motors (46% of total SSFs). Based on several assumptions, a simulation forecasted a 100% substitution by the year 2024 with cumulative CO2 emissions savings of 5.234 million tonnes. Economics of the technological change are presented and analyzed.