Environment
Aguascalientes: the environmental fund the law calls for, but we cannot yet see
Guanajuato, Jalisco and Querétaro turn vehicle emissions testing into environmental projects. Aguascalientes law calls for an environmental fund, but we found none operating in public sources.
Bajío Ventures · February 2026 · Bajío environmental funds, 4 of 5
Guanajuato, Jalisco and Querétaro turn vehicle emissions testing into environmental projects. In Aguascalientes we looked for the equivalent and found no state environmental fund in operation in public sources. What does exist is the legal mandate to create one.
What the law says
The Aguascalientes Environmental Protection Law, in force since February 2000 and last amended in December 2024, tasks the Secretariat of Sustainability, Environment and Water (SSMAA) with promoting an environmental fund.
The intended design differs from its neighbours: a fund for research, study and action on environmental issues of interest to the state and its citizens, run through agreements with the state’s universities. The same law lets the Secretariat propose emissions-testing fees in the state revenue law.
What we found
- No trust, operating rules or calls for a state environmental fund.
- SSMAA reports securing federal funds from SEMARNAT’s Inter-institutional Environmental Programme for training and equipment.
- The state does run trusts, but for economic and industrial development, not the environment.
- In April 2025 Aguascalientes hosted, with the federal Finance Ministry and the IDB, the second Sustainable Finance Forum: there is institutional interest in the topic.
Not appearing in public sources does not prove a fund does not exist. The next step is a transparency request to SSMAA. If a reader knows of an operating fund, we want to hear about it and will update this post.
What it means for municipalities
Without an earmarked state pool, Aguascalientes municipalities rely on their own budgets and on federal or international sources for studies, waste equipment, energy efficiency or air monitoring. That makes up-to-date planning instruments —waste programme, climate action plan, emissions inventory— even more important, because almost every funder requires or scores them.
If Aguascalientes created one
Its neighbours offer models to borrow from:
| Feature | Reference model |
|---|---|
| Earmarked, recurring income | Guanajuato: sticker-sale margin transferred monthly |
| Open to companies, NGOs and academia | Querétaro: broad eligibility and published scoring |
| Co-funding with federal and international money | Jalisco: programmes with CONAFOR, KfW and GIZ |
| Regional delivery | Jalisco: inter-municipal environmental boards |
The law’s own design —a link with universities— could be an advantage: a fund that pays for environmental studies and data with academic rigour, something none of the neighbours has at its core.
Next and last: a comparison of the four states and a guide to preparing a fundable project.
Sources: Aguascalientes Environmental Protection Law (State Congress) · Environmental Protection Law — latest amendment (Justia) · SSMAA — Extraordinary resources · 2nd Sustainable Finance Forum
This article is also available in Spanish. Read in Spanish