Time Magazine has named President Claudia Sheinbaum as one of the 100 most influential climate leaders in business for 2024, a list that includes decision-makers, executives, researchers and innovators who are deemed to play an important role in driving successful and equitable climate action.
“Few world leaders can claim to know as much about climate science as Mexico’s new President Claudia Sheinbaum,” Time Magazine wrote.
The recently elected president holds a doctorate in energy engineering from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and has contributed to two major reports for the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Sheinbaum has vowed to expand renewable energy to 45% of total power generation by 2030, compared to around 24% in 2022. “We all need strong, public state energy companies that guarantee clean energy at low prices to current and future generations,” she said during her inaugural presidential speech on Oct. 1.
The president has extensive experience implementing green energy policies in her previous role as mayor of Mexico City, where she launched the city’s first electric bus fleet and developed one of the world’s biggest urban solar projects at the Centro de Abasto wholesale market.
However, many are questioning whether she will pursue the energy strategy of her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. As president, AMLO focused on nationalizing Mexico’s energy industry, invested heavily in the indebted national oil company Pemex and curbed private spending on renewable energy during his six years in office.
Sheinbaum has pledged to continue supporting Pemex, while also delivering an “ambitious” state-led plan for the energy transition, Time wrote.
In April, Sheinbaum announced plans to invest $13.6 billion in new energy generation projects including gas, wind, solar and hydroelectric power plants, in addition to thousands of kilometers of new transmission lines.
Yet, in the 2025 federal budget, announced on Nov. 15, funding for the Environment Ministry was cut by 39.4% to 44.37 billion pesos. This aligns with Sheinbaum’s implementation of “republican austerity” measures aimed at reducing the budget deficit.
Sheinbaum may also influence international energy initiatives in her role as president. On Monday at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sheinbaum proposed the creation of a global fund for “the biggest reforestation program in history.” Under her proposal, countries would redirect 1% of their military spending to the fund, raising around $24 billion to reforest 15 million hectares of land every year.
“The proposal is to stop sowing wars, let’s sow peace and let’s sow life,” Sheinbaum said.
With reports from Time, El Universal, Oilprice, Financial Post and El Economista
