The seminar on “Adaptation to Climate Change and its Financing” addressed topics related to climate change vulnerability and their importance to public policy design. The seminar assessed the current situation, the challenges and opportunities of climate change adaptation, and financing sources for projects using innovative instruments. Mexico is especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change, and the continued emission of greenhouse gases will bring greater and more problematic change to the climate system. To counteract the problems and implement adaptation actions at the same time, intergovernmental groups of experts exist with initiatives to reduce vulnerability and support the population’s wellbeing.
The Special Program on Climate Change and the General Law on Climate Change establish objectives related to adaptation, vulnerability reduction and the conservation or restoration of ecosystems. They also recognize the changes to ecosystems and the economic and social development of vulnerable communities. Implementing the actions involves a cyclical process of identifying vulnerabilities, creating objectives, finding financing for adaptation and analyzing innovative instruments.
The National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change (INECC) presented the National Atlas of Vulnerability to Climate Change, which serves to identify priority areas and initiate the vulnerability diagnostic (origin of the problem, the place where it usually happens and the impacted place). The Atlas is a tool to identify vulnerabilities and help make decisions for the development plan. Given the importance of adaptation, implementation mechanisms are a key feature of the Paris Agreement. That’s why diagnostics are needed to find solutions to specific problems, as well as to identify the adaptation costs caused by risk increase and conduct cost-benefit analysis. The processes behind the adaptation and the evaluation, design and implementation of measures were also explained, as were those related to monitoring, capacity building, evaluation, cooperation and tracking.
The Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) presented on innovative adaptation financing instruments. The presentation focused on financing through international cooperation using mixed funds, and through programs, forums, and public, private, national and international organizations such as financial institutions and intergovernmental agencies like the UN. The objective is to channel financial resources to support the implementation of actions that combat climate change and finance adaptation projects in vulnerable communities by increasing investment in sustainable infrastructure.
In conclusion, the continued emission of greenhouse gases will cause greater and more intense effects, which is why it is fundamental to act based on the objectives of climate change adaptation, such as reducing the vulnerability of the population and the sustainable management of ecosystems.
The seminar was organized by the ITAM Energy and Natural Resources Center and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.