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Cleaner Air, Better Health

By Katherine Blumberg

What’s holding up progress on low sulfur fuels?

In 2003, Mexico’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) started work on a standard to dramatically reduce the sulfur levels in fuels. By 2005, the standard was published, requiring ultra-low-sulfur fuels (15 parts per million or less) nationwide by 2009.

However, today, only about 25 percent of the diesel sold in Mexico meets the standard.

What happened?

Four years after the original requirement, SEMARNAT, SENER (the energy ministry) and PEMEX (the state-owned oil company) have still not settled on a new deadline for cleaner fuels in Mexico. And, in...

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