The state of Sonora is one of 23 states with a climate change law. Signed into law in November 2017, it is the only state climate change law in Mexico that is aligned with both the international commitments of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Among its functions, the Climate Change Law of Sonora establishes the basic instruments of state policy on climate change. One of these instruments is the State Environmental Fund, which has a dual legal basis since it is also mentioned within the Law of Ecological Equilibrium and Environmental Protection of the State of Sonora. This fund will allow the state to manage its resources to support and implement environmental actions.

The Mexican-German Climate Change Alliance of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH has supported the Commission of Ecology and Sustainable Development of the State of Sonora (CEDES) in establishing operating rules and procedures and in surveillance of the fund. In a highly participatory process, between December 2017 and August 2018 the fund’s technical committee helped developed the rules, which will soon be published.

The implementation of the operating rules will make Sonora the first state to have a financial mechanism with inclusive language that allows the state to collect and direct public, private, national and international financial resources to carry out actions and projects that address the state’s environmental problems.

This consultancy is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU).

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