Advancing discussions on building codes implementation in Mexico City

The MEI team (Lead Michael McNeil and Program Manager Alberto Diaz) held a meeting last July in Mexico City with partners in the Mexico City government and the non-governmental sector to advance collaboration projects on energy efficiency, including implementation of building codes for energy efficiency in buildings.

The meeting was organized by the Mexico City Secretariat of Economic Development (SEDECO) and included the participation of representatives from the Mexico City Secretariat of Environment (SEDEMA); the National Commission for the Efficient Use of Energy (CONUEE); Mexico’s Climate Initiative (ICM); World Resources Institute (WRI) and the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).  Dr. Alberto Valdes Palacios, Director General of Development and Energy Sustainability at SEDECO, presided the meeting and emphasized the importance of coordination between federal and city authorities in the development of energy efficiency strategies.

Under USAID’s  Scaling Energy Efficient Development Program (SEED), Berkeley Lab and partner ICM are working with the administration of Dr. Claudia Sheinbaum in an effort to achieve full implementation of mandatory energy efficiency building codes for commercial buildings.  The project takes advantage of the existence of federal codes developed by CONUEE, specifically thermal envelope specifications provided in NOM-008-ENER-2001.  While this technical code has existed for some time, as yet no Mexican municipalities have implemented its compliance through building permit requirements.  Successful completion of this project in Mexico’s largest city will therefore constitute a great step forward toward full compliance throughout Mexico.