Collaborative insights: Empowering health advocacy on methane in Mexico

What’s new: EDF’s Global Clean Air team was proud to launch the Sall Methane and Health project in March of 2024, a new collaboration funded by the Sall Family Foundation to track the health impacts of methane emitted by the oil and gas industry in Mexico. Key partners in the project include:

• The Centro Mexicano de Derecho Ambiental (CEMDA), a civil society organization that works to strengthen legal protections for the environment in Mexico.
• El Observatorio Mexicano de Emisiones de Metano (Obmem), a coalition that advances national and global agreements to reduce methane emissions in the oil and gas industry.

At the launch, EDF and CEMDA connected with community groups and journalists, highlighting relevant EDF findings about methane emissions in Mexico. One such finding is that methane emissions could be up-to 2.5 times higher than reported by government sources.

Why it matters: By raising awareness, fostering collaborations with diverse stakeholders and building rapport with impacted communities, policymakers and journalists in Mexico, EDF is not only enhancing scientific knowledge of methane’s impacts but also laying the groundwork for concrete policies aimed at addressing environmental and health concerns.

The details: The March 13 panel presentation with CEMDA titled “¿Huellas invisibles? Cómo impacta el metano a las comunidades,” shed light on methane’s effects on communities. Sergio Sánchez and Veronica Southerland presented on methane sources, EDF’s past research work and forthcoming efforts to highlight health impacts and strengthen methane regulations.

The EDF team also met with CEMDA and Obmem, who were instrumental in solidifying diverse cross-sector partnerships for the project. Discussions revolved around project goals, potential roles, and the formulation of a $50,000 subgrant that would enable CEMDA to convene Mexican methane policy experts to help build consensus and momentum toward solutions.

What’s next: As the project gets underway, key focus areas will include:

• Disproportionate impacts on vulnerable demographics like women and children
• Replicating previous US studies in Mexico
• Expanding research avenues to encompass broader air pollutant attributable health burden studies in Mexico.

As the project moves forward, strengthening collaboration between EDF, CEMDA, Obmem and other groups will prove pivotal in shaping future insights generated and policy solutions. The EDF team will continue to share updates on the Sall Methane and Health project here on the Global Clean Air blog as they unfold—stay tuned!

Veronica Southerland is an environmental health scientist with expertise in the health impacts of air pollution.

Learn more about the health impacts of methane here.