Air Policy Workgroup
Goal 1: Reduce Air Pollution
A number of cities near the U.S.-Mexico border share common airsheds; thus, activities in one city can directly affect the other, whether in the same country or across the border. As such, strategies and solutions to address air pollution along the border are more likely to be effective when they are developed and implemented binationally, with active engagement from community stakeholders, as well as local, state, federal, and Tribal authorities.
Strategies and measures used to reduce the emissions of conventional air pollutants such as particulate matter may also contribute to reduced emissions of greenhouse gases. The Border 2025 program encourages stakeholders to develop and implement projects that maximize health and environmental benefits from multi-pollutant emissions reductions where available.
Border 2025 projects under Goal 1 should endeavor to address disproportionate air quality impacts and focus on activities in or near vulnerable communities in areas that do not meet one or more of the national ambient air quality standards, including, but not limited to, those within the following bi-national airsheds:
- San Diego/Tijuana
- Imperial County/Mexicali
- Ambos Nogales
- Paso del Norte (El Paso/Juarez/Sunland Park)
Note: To see the full details of each goal refer to the framework.
Objective 1: Establish reliable and sustainably operated air monitoring networks and provide real-time access to air quality data.
Objective 2: Increase the quality and exchange of data from emissions inventories across the border and among federal, state, local, Tribal governments and Mexican Indigenous communities and Afro-Mexican people.
Objective 3: Reduce vehicle emissions in the border region, including by establishing or strengthening programs that reduce the number of vehicles that do not comply with vehicle emissions standards.
Objective 4: Deploy strategies and technologies to reduce pollutant emissions and improve public health outcomes.
Objective 5: By 2025, support update and/or completion of climate action plans in each of the six northern Mexican Border States (as appropriate) and build the necessary capacity to guarantee sustained implementation.