Mexico: We will cut carbon emissions

Mexico announced this week that it aims to cut its carbon emissions by half before 2050.

The move, which is voluntary rather than based on regulations, will concentrate on keeping emissions down particularly within the oil and cement industries, reported AFP.

Environment minister Juan Rafael Elvira announced the intentions at the UN framework Conference on Climate Change, which was held in Poland this week.

He stated that Mexico aims to halve the 650 million tonnes it emitted in 2002.

However, as junior environment minister Fernando Tudela highlighted, the country will need help with funding to achieve this.

"We need to have secure financing, we can't rely only on funds coming from the Clean Development Mechanism," he said.

Meanwhile, in the US, a new report from the University of California's Institute of the Environment concluded that those who establish air quality regulations should do more to take pregnant women, the young and elderly into account.