RENE and the GHG Program in Mexico: emissions reporting obligations

The National Emissions Register (RENE) is the instrument through which Mexico gathers information on the greenhouse-gas and compound emissions generated by the country's establishments. Through the RENE, companies that exceed a certain threshold must report each year how much they emit, both directly and indirectly, allowing the authority to build a picture of the origin of national emissions and track their evolution.

In short: if your organisation, adding up all its facilities, emits 25,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent or more per year, it is a reporting subject for the RENE.

What the RENE is

The RENE is a public register that integrates information on the emissions of greenhouse gases from the different productive sectors. Its aim is to have consistent, comparable data to underpin national climate policy: knowing who emits, how much and in which activities, and measuring progress towards the country's reduction commitments.

It is administered by SEMARNAT, with the technical involvement of the National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change (INECC). Unlike a national-scale aggregated emissions inventory, the RENE collects information establishment by establishment from the reports of the obligated subjects.

Legal basis: the General Law on Climate Change

The RENE's foundation is the General Law on Climate Change (LGCC), which creates various climate-policy instruments, including the register itself. The operational detail (what is reported, how, with which thresholds and how it is verified) is developed in the Regulation of the General Law on Climate Change regarding the National Emissions Register.

This architecture (framework law plus specific regulation) is what turns a general obligation of the LGCC into a concrete, enforceable procedure for companies. So, to know exactly what to report, the reference is the LGCC and its RENE regulation, together with the agreements that specify the calculation methodology.

The reporting threshold: 25,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent

The criterion that defines who is obligated is the threshold of 25,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year. Reporting subjects are establishments whose emissions, adding up all their facilities, equal or exceed that figure.

Two important nuances so as not to err when assessing whether the threshold is exceeded:

• The threshold considers direct and indirect emissions. Direct emissions come from own sources (for example, combustion in boilers or the fleet); indirect emissions are associated mainly with purchased electricity.
• The whole organisation is counted, that is, the sum of all facilities, not each plant separately.

By being expressed in CO2 equivalent, the threshold integrates the different gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and others) converted to a common unit according to their warming potential, allowing very different emissions to be compared and aggregated.

Which sectors are subject to it

The RENE covers the economy's main emitting sectors. Specifically, establishments in the following sectors must report:

• Energy
• Transport
• Industrial
• Agriculture and livestock
• Waste
• Commerce and services

Within each sector, the obligation falls on establishments that exceed the threshold, considering emissions from fixed and mobile sources. In practice, this includes a wide range of energy- or fuel-intensive activities, from power generation and heavy industry to large transport and waste-management operations.

How it is reported and verified

Reporting to the RENE is done electronically through the COA Web platform, within SEMARNAT's system, in the same annual period as the Annual Operating Certificate: from 1 March to 30 June, with information referring to the previous year. This integration with the COA simplifies the administrative burden, since much of the activity data is shared.

Verification is a distinctive element of the RENE. Reporting subjects must submit, at a set frequency, a verification opinion of their emissions issued by a verification body approved or accredited before SEMARNAT. This independent third-party verification lends credibility to the reported figures and is a requirement to take part in instruments such as the carbon market. The verification calendar differs from the annual report capture, so it is best to plan it in advance.

The process, in simplified form, chains three steps: calculate emissions with the applicable methodology, report within the capture period and verify through an approved body's opinion.

To organise the data before the deadline, see how to arrive prepared in our article on reporting with your data in order.

Relationship with the Emissions Trading System Test Program

The RENE is the database that underpins Mexico's Emissions Trading System (ETS). The LGCC provides for a carbon market, and its rollout began with a Test Program whose preliminary bases were published in 2019, with a pilot phase that ran in the following years. The purpose of that phase was for participants to understand how the market works before consolidating an operational phase.

The connection with the RENE is direct: the sectors covered by the ETS account for most of the emissions reported to the register, and participation in the program has been defined based on higher direct-emission thresholds than the general reporting threshold. In other words, the RENE provides the verified data that makes it possible to allocate allowances and track emissions within the carbon market. To place the RENE and the ETS within the wider Mexican framework, see our guide on environmental laws, NOMs and certifications in Mexico.

Frequently asked questions

Who is required to report to the RENE?

Establishments whose direct and indirect greenhouse-gas and compound emissions, adding up all their facilities, equal or exceed 25,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year, in the energy, transport, industrial, agriculture and livestock, waste and commerce and services sectors.

What is the RENE's legal basis?

The General Law on Climate Change (LGCC) and its Regulation regarding the National Emissions Register, which develops what is reported, how and with which thresholds.

How is it reported to the RENE?

Electronically through the COA Web platform, in the period from 1 March to 30 June, referring to the previous year, and with a verification opinion issued by a body approved before SEMARNAT at the established frequency.

How does the RENE relate to the carbon market?

The RENE provides the verified emissions information that underpins Mexico's Emissions Trading System, launched with a Test Program, whose covered sectors concentrate most of the register's emissions.

Prepare your emissions report with Manglai

With Manglai you can calculate your direct and indirect emissions, check whether you exceed the RENE threshold and keep the data organised and traceable for reporting and verification. Start with our carbon footprint solution.