Mexico is especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change, such as the decrease in water availability, floods, droughts and the advance of diseases such as dengue. Continuing the emission of greenhouse gases will cause greater warming and greater changes in all components of the climate system, which will increase the likelihood of widespread and irreversible impacts on ecosystems. Limiting the impacts of climate change requires not only substantial and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions; it also requires adaptation actions.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) defines adaptation as “the initiatives and measures aimed at reducing the vulnerability of natural and human systems to the real or expected effects of climate change”. Adaptation contributes to the well-being of populations, the security of assets and ecosystems continue to perform their functions.

The Special Climate Change Program in congruence with the General Law on Climate Change establishes two objectives related to adaptation to climate change:

Reduce the vulnerability of the population and productive sectors and increase their resilience and the resilience of strategic infrastructure.
Conserve, restore and sustainably manage ecosystems by guaranteeing their environmental services for mitigation and adaptation to climate change.
The federal government, as well as various state and municipal governments, recognize that climate change is already affecting ecosystems and the economic and social development of vulnerable communities. In response, governments are designing policies to promote adaptation.

In the fifth GIZ-ITAM seminar, which on this occasion has the outstanding collaboration of the National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change, three fundamental aspects related to adaptation will be analyzed. First, the vulnerability of the country and the objectives of the adaptation policy. Second, the state of financing for adaptation, as well as challenges and opportunities. Finally, innovative instruments for financing adaptation to climate change will be analyzed.