Under pressure to address one of the key causes of poor air quality here, Mexico’s Environment and Natural Resources Secretariat (Semarnat) has set new standards aimed at cutting vehicular sulfur emissions in half by 2020. The standards, unveiled Jan. 30 and slated to take effect in July, require the state-owned oil monopoly, Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) to reduce the amount of sulfur in its gasoline and diesel products by up to 90% by 2008. Officials say that reducing sulfur and the harmful particulates associated with it will bring immediate health and economic benefits. “We can estimate that in the next 20 years, 56,000 premature deaths and 165,000 cases of chronic bronchitis will be avoided,” Semarnat Secretary José Luis Luege told reporters recently. “We will also... [Log in to read more]