Mexico’s bouquet of distinct ecosystems features an assorted variety of species, making the country one of the most biologically diverse in the world. The gem of Mexico’s ecological abundance is in great danger due to the forces of climate change. The country’s coastal regions risk destruction from tropical storms. Other problems include heavy rains that increase flash flooding and pollution that dulls overall health. Environmental deterioration and degradation can be traced as a root cause of current social and economic problems in Mexico, especially as poverty is agitated by the effects of climate change.

In June 2011 the Association of Progressive Communications (APC) released “ICTs and environmental sustainability: Mapping national policy-making and climate change strategies“. In the report, the authors note the potential for ICTs in Mexico but warn of the overall disconnect between policy-making and climate change strategies. A critical piece missing is the general lack of communication infrastructure. The report cites a study that states that Mexico has the second lowest broadband density of all countries in the OECD and in comparison to other countries Internet is slow and expensive. In 2010, only 30 out of 110 million Mexicans had access to Internet. 

There is great potential for ICTs to litigate climate change in Mexico. The report points towards solutions for integrating ICT into the sector, noting the limited budget and lack of private investment in technology. Despite this, in 2010 Ericsson declared that they supported launching a public-private partnership for low-carbon solutions at the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Cancun (COP16).

Some proposed areas where ICTs can be introduced include:

• tracking carbon footprints and using sensors to improve energy use efficiency
• surveying water use
• using geographic data for flood prevention
• creating information dissemination and consultation systems to prevent and issue early warning in vulnerable situations such as natural disasters that can coordinate members of the National Civil Protection System
• updating the national volcanological monitoring system
• forming a surveillance system for land conservation