Along with the Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA) and the Economic Social and Cultural Rights Project (ProDESC), we submitted an alternative report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) for its 97th Session.  

This report critically examines Mexico's energy policies about the country's human rights obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It highlights that reliance on fossil fuels risks children's rights, including their right to a healthy environment, health, and life. The report emphasises that children are among the most vulnerable to climate change and environmental degradation, exacerbated by Mexico's existing energy framework.

The alternative report outlines the urgent need for a just energy transition in Mexico that moves away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. It argues that this transition must prioritise children's rights by incorporating a child-centred and intersectional approach in all energy policies and decisions. The submission also addresses energy policies' broader human rights implications and highlights the role of international human rights standards in guiding Mexico toward sustainable development.

The submission calls for an end to retrogressive policies that prioritise fossil fuel investments. It also argues that Mexico should review its current energy policy to comply with its obligations under the Convention by immediately phasing out the use of coal, oil, and gas and ensuring a fair and just transition to clean and efficient energies. 

Moreover, the report underlines that Mexico should ensure that the energy transition is conceived not only as a technical process of changing from one energy source to another but as a structural transformation of the sector based on human rights principles, guaranteeing that the promotion of renewable energies does not reproduce the practices of the extractivist model.