The World Bank approved grants totaling to $13.91 million to Mexico and Brazil under the Global Environment Facility’s projects for sustainable transport and improved air quality.

“This project supports the correspondent states and the Mexican Government in its efforts to reduce carbon emissions in the transport sector, which accounts for 18 percent of Mexico’s total greenhouse emissions,” said Gloria Grandolini, the bank’s director for Colombia and Mexico.

The regional project aims to reduce private vehicle use; create incentives for public and nonmotorized transport; improve transport planning; decrease carbon dioxide-equivalent tons emitted by ground transport; and increase the number of cities that are integrating environment and climate change components in their transportation policies.

The Global Environment Facility provides grant and concessional funding to achieve global environmental benefits in the areas including climate change and biological diversity.

Out of the funding, Mexico will receive $5.38 million while Brazil will get $8.53 million.

In Mexico, the transportation and air quality project’s total cost is estimated to be around $36.96 million. The government will provide the larger part of the costs at $31.55 million.

The project will be implemented within four years and is expected to be completed by December 30, 2013.

The projects will be implemented in the Mexican cities of Leon, Monterrey, Puebla and Ciudad Juarez, while the cities of Belo Horizonte, Curitiba and São Paulo were the ones chosen for Brazil.

The cities emerged from 47 cities from 12 countries in Latin America that competed for the program being implemented in Mexico, Brazil and Argentina.

An international committee evaluated the cities’ proposals. In Brazil, the cities were chosen for their being economic and governance centers at the national and municipal levels.

“Due to its extensive use of renewable biofuels, the transport sector in Brazil contributes relatively less to greenhouse gas emissions than most other Latin American countries. Despite this, air pollution remains a serious problem,” said Paul Procee, project manager for the bank.

The World Bank will be among the facility’s implementing agencies. It will also give advice to countries in preparing co-financed projects for the facility, while supervising their implementation.