The objective of the seminar was to talk about the implementation of the Paris Agreement in Mexico, including initial steps, the integration of Mexican companies with European Union companies and the implementation of the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).

The implementation of the Paris Agreement was discussed based on the NDC, taking into account the costs and potential for long-term planning that includes business strategies integrating the NDC. Facilitating and promoting exchange between companies and international organizations is necessary for improving the adaptation capacity of the country’s most vulnerable municipalities to climate change.

To do so, the social sector, strategic infrastructure and ecosystem adaptation should be considered. Early warning systems are also an essential part of mitigating the effects of climate change. There is currently an opportunity to implement clean energies, zero or low emissions transport, high efficiency equipment and processes, and zero-emissions infrastructure and housing.

All of this can be done in Mexico with international support, through bilateral agreements with cooperation agencies, European institutions and international non-governmental organizations.

Despite emitting only 1.4% of global CO₂ emissions, Mexico finds itself vulnerable to the effects of climate change and thus has a crucial role to play in climate mitigation. Mexico should open the voluntary carbon market, institute carbon taxes and provide clean energy certificates.

Currently, national climate goals exist as part of the implementation of the General Law on Climate Change, the Energy Reform, the Energy Transition Law and the NDC. For Mexico, taking part in international actions is a priority since temperature increases are proportional to the collateral costs for the world economy.

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is supporting Mexico in the implementation of the NDC by helping develop national climate policy instruments that include guiding instruments on adaptation and mitigation; it is also working with sub-national governments, directly involving itself with state entities that need support.

The British Embassy discussed the current actions that help facilitate contact between Mexican companies and small and medium enterprises in the European Union that use low emission technologies. The idea is for Mexican companies to acquire these technologies to help with climate change mitigation. In this context, several types of energy generation, energy efficiency and water management improvement projects were presented.

Representatives from the Embassy of Poland spoke about the results of the projects presented during the COP 24 climate summit. All these projects have headquarters in Mexico and Europe and have been carried out jointly with the Mexican government. The Danish Energy Agency expressed support for the implementation of mitigation measures that include the development of technological routes and NDC cost estimates.

The seminar was organized by the ITAM Energy and Natural Resources Center and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on June 21, 2018.