Editing Geography of Mexico (section)

====REDD+ reference levels and monitoring====
Mexico has submitted national [[forest reference emission level]] (FREL) benchmarks under the [[UNFCCC]] [[REDD+]] framework, and each submission has been subject to a UNFCCC technical assessment.<ref name="UNFCCC_REDD_MEX">{{cite web |title=Mexico (MEX) — Submissions provided by Country |website=REDD+ Web Platform |publisher=United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) |url=https://redd.unfccc.int/submissions/by-country/country_detail/mex.html}}</ref><ref name="UNFCCC_TAR_MEX_2015">{{cite report |title=Report on the technical assessment of the proposed forest reference emission level of Mexico submitted in 2014 |publisher=United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) |date=25 November 2015 |url=https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2015/tar/mex.pdf |id=FCCC/TAR/2015/MEX}}</ref><ref name="UNFCCC_TAR_MEX_2020">{{cite report |title=Report on the technical assessment of the proposed forest reference emission level of Mexico submitted in 2020 |publisher=United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) |date=21 February 2022 |url=https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/tar2020_MEX.pdf |id=FCCC/TAR/2020/MEX}}</ref> On the UNFCCC REDD+ Web Platform, Mexico's [[Warsaw Framework on REDD-plus|Warsaw Framework]] elements are listed as “reported” for its submissions (national strategy, [[Cancún safeguards|safeguards]] information, and a [[national forest monitoring system]]), and its reference levels are listed as “assessed”.<ref name="UNFCCC_REDD_MEX" />

Mexico's first national FREL (submitted in 2014 and assessed in 2015) covered the REDD+ activity “reducing emissions from deforestation” at national scale, expressed as a historical average of CO2 emissions from gross deforestation over 2000–2010.<ref name="UNFCCC_TAR_MEX_2015" /> The modified/assessed FREL reported by the technical assessment was 44,388,620 [[carbon dioxide equivalent|t CO2 eq]] per year.<ref name="UNFCCC_TAR_MEX_2015" /> The assessed FREL included the above-ground and below-ground biomass pools and CO2 only, while excluding litter, dead wood and [[soil organic carbon]] (in mineral and organic soils).<ref name="UNFCCC_TAR_MEX_2015" />

Mexico submitted an updated national FREL in 2020 (assessed in 2022), with a 2007–2016 historical reference period and an assessed value of 20,245,016 t CO2 eq per year after modification during the technical assessment.<ref name="UNFCCC_TAR_MEX_2020" /> This second FREL expanded scope to include emissions from deforestation and a defined subset of forest degradation (“absolute forest degradation”) and expanded pools to include above-ground biomass, below-ground biomass, deadwood and soil organic carbon (while litter was not included).<ref name="UNFCCC_TAR_MEX_2020" /> The UNFCCC REDD+ Web Platform also lists Mexico's reported REDD+ results for 2017–2019 (6,041,219 t CO2 eq/year) against the assessed reference level of 20,245,016 t CO2 eq/year, for the reported activities of deforestation and forest degradation.<ref name="UNFCCC_REDD_MEX" />