The Climate Footprint Project has supported state and regional governments in Mexico to improve their efforts to monitor and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In the state of Baja California, they are building an inventory of limited resources, and in the Yucatan Peninsula, they are identifying the challenges and opportunities in the development of subnational inventories of greenhouse gases.
Despite resource problems, the state of Baja California has managed to strengthen its monitoring and emission reduction capacities with the support of the Climate Footprint Project.
The state has successfully formed an intersectoral task force to begin integrated climate action planning and update its greenhouse gas inventory. In addition, it has identified the energy sector as the largest contributor to state emissions and created a partnership with the State Energy Commission, in order to obtain the necessary data to prepare for an inventory. The case study, which can be downloaded below, talks more about the challenges faced by Baja California and how building alliances within the same state has proved a positive strategy.
The Yucatan Peninsula, on the other hand, is especially vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. In recent years, it has experienced an increasing frequency of extreme weather events, such as tropical storms and cyclones. To face climate change, the Yucatán government has prioritised the development of climate policies that address both adaptation and mitigation actions.
Greenhouse gas inventories can be an important tool for subnational governments. However, its application depends on the political will of decision-makers to incorporate the inventory into state regulations and establish requirements for its continuous development.
With the support of the Climate Footprint Project, Yucatán has been working to identify the main sources of its emissions and update its GHG inventory. In the case study, which can be downloaded below, the state has demonstrated the importance of this work by outlining the policies it helps to support, and also offers recommendations for planning approaches and a methodology for monitoring state emissions.