The Ibero-American Commission on Human Rights for the Development of the Americas (CIDHPDA), in the voice of the President Commissioner for Latin America and the Caribbean, Víctor Hugo Gutiérrez Yáñez, considered urgent the need to invest in the installation of wind turbines in the large cities of Latin America to mitigate the high levels of pollution, so that their inhabitants can have access to the human right to breathe clean air.
In Latin America, air quality is poor due to vehicles, the burning of fossil fuels, mining extraction and fires, with Chile being the country most affected by a wave of forest fires that have claimed the lives of at least 120 people. According to the World Air Quality Report 2022, prepared in March last year by the Swiss air quality technology company IQAir, Peru and Chile were among the countries with the highest level of air pollution in the world.
Of the ten most polluted municipalities in South America, five were in Peru and five in Chile, while Mexico City ranked third, followed by Guatemala City, Bogota and Buenos Aires. However, according to the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF), in September Mexico became the second country with the highest pollutant emissions in the region, representing 17% of the total. The highest pollutant emissions come from the industrial sector (31%), energy systems (25%) and transportation (17%), followed by the agricultural sector (13%), changes in land use (12%) and buildings (3%).
This report also revealed that climate-related extreme events in Mexico have increased in the last ten years, from 3.5 to 5.8 events per year on average, which will result in a progressive increase in temperature in the coming decades. It is pertinent to remember that 2023 was the hottest year in Mexico in the last 80 years, according to the National Meteorological Service (SMN), and it is predicted that the heat wave of 2024 will be even more intense. This situation will negatively impact several sectors of the economy, such as agriculture.
Wind energy is a good alternative in the fight against climate change, as it helps to considerably reduce the use of fossil fuels by saving emissions of carbon dioxide, fine particles, among other greenhouse gases that deteriorate the environment. In addition, wind energy represents a viable option for achieving energy self-sufficiency and sustainable development.
To face the challenges of climate change, the Mexican government must invest in clean technologies, as the country has failed to take advantage of its enormous potential in renewable energies. The Mexican Wind Energy Association (AMDEE by its Spanish acronym) estimated that in 2015 the wind energy potential was 50 GW, but currently only 7.3 GW has been installed. A study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), published in 2022, placed the technical potential at more than 3,600 GW of wind power.
AMDEE pointed out that in 2022 the power plants in operation contributed to prevent the emission of approximately 8.8 million tons of CO2e, which is equivalent to taking 1.9 million vehicles off the road. For this reason it is necessary that Latin American governments bet more on wind energy to reduce dependence on carbon-based energy, this will bring us closer to meeting the environmental sustainable development goals. Similarly, the right to breathe clean air will be guaranteed, an elemental factor of the right to a healthy environment, enshrined in the constitutions of more than 100 countries around the world, including Mexico, and recognized by the United Nations General Assembly as a human right.
Gutiérrez Yáñez asserted that "it is necessary to install wind turbines in the mountains that cover the Valley of Mexico, in order to generate an air storm for the entire Valley of Mexico, which will help disperse pollutants".