MEXICO CITY — Mexico City Mayor Miguel Ángel Mancera said that only in Mexico City are applied measures to improve air quality, but there are other cities in the country with higher levels of pollution where “nothing is done.”
Mancera said that the fight against climate change should be on the national agenda, but all attention is focused on the capital.
“The work against environmental pollution is not the task of a city, look, because this is being lost, it is a national issue and we should be asking ourselves what is being done in other cities.
“Why do we not have a shared strategy, why are vehicle restrictions only here when there are cities that have triple the PM10 of Mexico City and do nothing, will people not get sick there? Or what will happen?” he said.
Mancera said Mexico City has advanced in the care of the environment over the last 10 years, which is shown in how currently it is not one of the most polluted cities in the country, or the world, yet federal authorities have decided to implement tougher measures and declare environmental contingencies.
“We now demand more, what was it that happened? One day in the Official Journal published a rule appeared from COFEPRIS (Commission for Sanitary Risk Prevention), and instead of using 180 for pre-contingencies, it is under 150; 30 points overnight, without prior action. However, because it is public health, we can not spare the effort; we can not haggle in the approach to these provisions, the city has to respond,” he said.
Mancera reiterated his call to President Enrique Peña Nieto for the Environmental Commission of the Megalopolis (CAMe) and to the leaders of the Health, Communications and Transport, and Economy Secretariats to integrate standards to help address the reduction of pollution.
The mayor said this during an announcement that entrepreneurs from Santa Fe will donate a thousand trees to be planted in the area as part of the 2016 CDMX Reforestation campaign, which has a goal of planting 3,500 trees.
He said the trees are endemic species such as Encino, Ahuehuete and Sauce Llorón (Weeping Willow) that do not harm the urban infrastructure and provide environmental services to the capital, with each tree having a height of six to eight meters and priced between 25,000 and 30,000 pesos.
“We are going to have more lungs in Mexico City; I was promised in the Government Report to make lungs for Mexico City,” he said.
La asociación de Colonos de Santa Fe une esfuerzos con @GobCDMX para juntos plantar 1,000 árboles #mm pic.twitter.com/OjLG4QvkWa
— Miguel Ángel Mancera (@ManceraMiguelMX) May 26, 2016
