The Municipality of Puerto Vallarta recognizes the need to develop its Municipal Climate Change Program (PMCC), with the aim of articulating and aligning local and national climate policies and involving the private sector (tourism) in Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) actions.

The Municipal Climate Change Programs are a guiding instrument for local climate change policy that define lines of action focused on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and limiting municipalities’ long-term vulnerability to climate change. In this context, on February 1, the Start-Up Workshop for the Elaboration of the PMCC of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, was held with the objective of informing and adding the participation of institutions from the public, private, academic and social sectors as a response to the climate challenges faced by the municipality.

For the elaboration of the PMCC, the Municipality of Puerto Vallarta receives support from the Ministry of the Environment and Territorial Development (SEMADET) of the Government of Jalisco in collaboration with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, through the projects “Vertically Integrated Climate Policies” (VICLIM) and “Ecosystem-based Adaptation to Climate Change with the Tourism Sector” (ADAPTUR). Puerto Vallarta will be the first municipality in the State of Jalisco to use the Guide for elaborating or updating the PMCC; the Guide is aligned with the state and national policy on climate change.

Additionally, GIZ announced the launch of a follow-up blog for the Puerto Vallarta PMCC that will function as a public platform to support learning and the exchange of knowledge and experiences between municipalities and stakeholders during the development of the plan.

During the workshop, a vulnerability self-diagnosis was conducted where the participants identified and built climate impact chains for the tourism, fishing, urban and infrastructure, and agricultural and forestry sectors. The results of the workshop will be crucial for diagnosing the PMCC’s vulnerability and for the design and prioritization of EbA measures.

Finally, in order to corroborate the municipality’s commitment to the international community to develop a climate policy, the Municipal President of Puerto Vallarta signed the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, an international alliance of local and regional governments that combats climate change from the local level.

The results and strong commitment of the attendees suggest that the PMCC will be a key tool for including the population in actions to prevent future climate impacts, building the necessary conditions to reduce the risk of disaster and moving towards a low-carbon and sustainable economy and society.