The pandemic caused by COVID-19 has had a devastating impact in all regions of the world. According to the World Bank, in 2020 the global economy began to suffer the worst recession since World War II. The World Economic Outlook Report (World Bank, 2022) notes that global growth slowed from 5.7% in 2021 to 2.9% in 2022, and in Latin America the economy was projected to decelerate sharply to 2.5% in 2022, after a 6.1% rebound in 2021. The economies of Latin America and the Caribbean have been hard hit by economic shocks, and, in parallel, the effects of climate change have exacerbated vulnerabilities.
In the findings of its sixth assessment cycle, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) confirmed the importance of acting now on climate resilient development to cope with the increasing negative impacts of climate change.
In this context, meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement and limiting the adverse effects of climate change, while greening economies, is an opportunity to move beyond the crisis and build a sustainable and inclusive future.
In the framework of the Environmental Management and Rural Development Sectoral Network of Latin America and the Caribbean (GADeR-ALC) of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, through the Workstream “Aligning climate action (NDC) with green recovery in Latin America”, a study was developed that explores and shows eight noteworthy examples of green recovery integrated into economic recovery processes and NDC implementation in four countries in the Latin America and Caribbean region: Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica and Mexico. These examples identify “best practices” in NDC implementation that can inspire and be applied and scaled in other countries in the region.
Consult the study by clicking on the image below:
Blue carbon ecosystems cover less than 0.5% of the world’s marine area but can sequester more carbon than mature tropical forests. For this reason, it is possible that these ecosystems capture the equivalent of almost half of the emissions generated by transport worldwide (Mexico is the country with the fourth largest extension of mangroves in the world (CONANP, 2017)). In the municipality of Angostura, in the state of Sinaloa, there is an area of 9,051.28 hectares of mangroves (CINAM, 2022).
Taking these considerations into account, the Secretariat of Welfare and Sustainable Development of Sinaloa (SEBIDES), with support from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) through the Mexican-German Climate Change Alliance, and in conjunction with the College of Environmental Engineers of Mexico (CINAM), are developing an analysis of coastal vulnerability and carbon pool dimensions in the Santa María – La Reforma lagoon system. The objective is to determine the size of the carbon reservoir contained in a specific area of the mangrove, as well as to prioritise those areas susceptible to restoration, conservation and sustainable management through a participatory process involving the communities.
The analysis has been underway since December 2022 and will conclude in November 2023. To date, several activities have been carried out, including three workshops to analyse the problems of the lagoon system and its contribution to climate action. Different actors have participated, such as the government, civil society, academia, communities and children.
First Virtual Workshop
The first workshop was held to identify the economic, cultural and social actions taken by the actors in the site for the preservation of the system. During the session, the inhabitants and workers of the area participated, as well as the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP), the Ministry of Aquaculture and Fisheries, Pronatura A.C. and the Ministry of Tourism.
Some of the problems identified include:
The lagoon system is an area of economic exploitation for fishing.
Aquaculture is the main phenomenon affecting the lagoon system.
It is necessary to reinforce the surveillance of the application of the norms.
Civil society is disconnected from mangrove efforts.
The conclusions of the problems identified were presented and the participants were offered various alternatives, projects and initiatives to help resolve the conflicts.
In the workshop for public officials, two notable participants were Nicté Loi Ceceña, Undersecretary of SEBIDES and Miguel Ángel Angulo Acosta, Municipal President of La Angostura. Indicators were built to solve the pollution problem. In addition, some actions oriented to ecological management were shared.
In the community workshop, the participation of women, children and workers from the areas surrounding the mangrove swamp was encouraged. The places perceived to have the greatest environmental deterioration were identified, as well as the factors that allowed the actors, economic activities and sites of interest to be identified. In addition, the participants presented the actions necessary for the conservation of the lagoon system.
The results of these workshops, together with the bibliographic analysis and the sampling of the mangrove area, will allow for the quantification of the carbon reservoir. The assessment and protection methodology will help replicate the process in other coastal regions of the country with similar problems and to catalyse blue carbon opportunities.
The results of the carbon sequestration potential assessment are coming soon – don’t miss it!
Tourism can be a sustainable activity that boosts economic reactivation, while at the same time protecting natural capital, by reducing the vulnerability of destinations to climate change. Since 2017, Guanajuato has been working closely with the project “Ecosystem-based adaptation for the tourism sector in Mexico” (ADAPTUR) of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on a first phase in San Miguel de Allende. It is one of the 3 pilot sites and where 5 of the 7 ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) measures targeted by the project were implemented. In this site, the measures focused on soil recovery and water provision, implemented with the support of the municipal government and civil society associations.
For the second phase of the project, the focus has broadened to include joint work at the state level between the Ministries of Environment and Land Management (SMAOT) and Tourism (SECTUR), with the support of ADAPTUR and Reforestemos México A.C. It aims to make progress on climate change adaptation in the state and strengthen the links between the tourism and environmental sectors through coordinated interagency work. In addition, this process has actively involved the private tourism sector through a mechanism for financing EbA measures in state Natural Protected Areas (NPAs). These areas have high economic value because they are key to the provision of ecosystem services, tourism and the reduction of the sector’s vulnerability to climate change.
The process is known as the “Emblem Project” for being a pioneer in the field at the regional and national level. As part of the project, a roadmap has been designed to compile lessons learned and promote the replication of these efforts by other interested states. These types of alliances are becoming increasingly meaningful and important in promoting a green economic recovery that guarantees the wellbeing of people and ecosystems, understanding that one cannot exist without the other.
After almost three years of developing the Subnational Climate Action Transparency Agenda Information System (SIAT-Subnational), a large number of lessons were learned that are made available through this guide.
Climate change is an issue that requires solutions at the international level, but at the same time, the implementation of actions takes place at the local level. In this sense, collaboration between different levels of government strengthens transparency and climate ambition.
For this reason, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), together with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH through the Mexican-German Climate Change Alliance and various subnational governments, designed and implemented an innovative and transparent system for tracking the contributions of the federal entities to the country’s climate commitments: the SIAT-Subnational.
The development of the system offered several lessons learned about the experience, objectives, methodology and critical factors involved in the creation and application of a SIAT-Subnational. These lessons will help other countries in Latin America and the world replicate and adapt similar systems.
We invite you to consult the Quick Implementation Guide of the SIAT-Subnational by clicking on the following image:
Mexico is highly vulnerable to the effects of the climate crisis, including droughts, floods and heavy rains, which pose threats to the states and the communities inhabiting them. Faced with this scenario, climate action at the local level is crucial to mitigating and adapting to climate change.
In order to include the contribution of states and municipalities in the climate commitments under the Paris Agreement, and to ensure transparency on the completed actions, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), with the support of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH through the Mexican-German Climate Change Alliance, developed the “Subnational Climate Action Transparency Agenda Information System (SIAT-Subnational)”.
After almost 3 years of development and capacity building for the states to use the system, the launch event of the SIAT-Subnational took place on 17 August 2022 in a hybrid format.
The event was hosted by María Luisa Albores González, head of SEMARNAT; Dr. Agustín Ávila Romero, Director General of Climate Action Policies (DGPAC); Immanuel Brand, Cooperation Policy Advisor of the German Embassy and Dr. Adriana Bustamante, Secretary of the Climate Change and Sustainability Commission of the Chamber of Deputies.
The design and development of the system was presented by Diana Guzmán Torres, Director of Climate Change Mitigation Policies. In addition, Suriel Islas, Deputy Director of Monitoring Actions to Promote Sustainable Development of SEMARNAT, discussed the process and mechanisms for the implementation of the system.
The heads of the Ministries of Environment of Mexico City, Guanajuato, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Puebla and Sonora participated in the event, all of whom were part of the piloting and development of the Subnational SIAT. They offered recommendations and discussed the advantages of local contributions to increasing climate ambition.
With this launch, Mexico becomes the first country in the Latin American region to have a climate action tracking system at the local level, leaving no one behind. We invite you to learn more about it here.
We invite all 32 states to report their actions! Don’t be left out!
In the framework of the Latin American Climate Assets Disclosure Initiative (LACADI), the report “Barriers to the inclusion of Climate Change opportunities and risks in financial sector investment decisions in Mexico” was published in July 2022.
This document serves as a fundamental reference for institutional investors to recognise the current state of the climate issue, take the opportunity to strengthen their capacities and focus their efforts on including climate change variables in their investment decisions.
The LACADI team identified seven main barriers to incorporating the analysis and information about climate change risks and opportunities into investment decisions in Mexico:
Lack of climate information for investment decision-making.
Lack of standardisation of climate information and available Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) indicators.
Lack of technical capacity of institutional investors to integrate climate factors into investment decisions.
Regulatory vacuum and legal uncertainty for effective climate disclosure.
Shortage in the supply of projects and assets, as there is a large gap in demand for well-structured projects under certain criteria that are financially viable and attractive to institutional investors.
The structure, size and shape of the financial market. The majority of institutional investors’ investments in the private sector are concentrated in a very small number of Mexican companies, which affects the diversification of investment portfolios. The ambition of the federal agenda and the country’s energy policies make it impossible for institutional investors to address one of the biggest areas of opportunity for the transition to a low-carbon economy in a cost-effective manner.
Lack of definition of a national sustainable taxonomy. There is distrust of labelled financial products because of the arbitrariness of how and by whom the label is defined.
Once the relationship between the sector’s business model and its potential to contribute to climate action is understood, institutional investors will undoubtedly be powerful agents of change.
The full report, conclusions and analysis are available here.
The consequences of climate change, such as rising temperatures, rising sea levels and the intensification of extreme hydro-meteorological events can have adverse effects on ecosystems, production systems and the quality of life of the population. Because Mexico is a country highly vulnerable to these impacts, it is a priority to have robust adaptation and mitigation policies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, increase resilience and strengthen the country’s adaptive capacity.
In order to support Mexico in meeting its climate goals and to promote a greener and more inclusive future, the Mexican-German Climate Change Alliance, implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and part of the International Climate Protection Initiative (IKI), is working with the Government of Mexico to strengthen the country’s climate policy.
We invite you to learn about the efforts to contribute to Mexico’s commitments to the Paris Agreement, resulting from the #CooperACTION driven by the Mexican-German Climate Change Alliance. Click on the image below:
As part of the efforts to continue working together with the public and private sectors to strengthen strategies for sustainable development and ecosystem protection, the Pirelli company has committed to increase its efforts to protect biodiversity by conserving 10.24 hectares of the Cuenca de la Esperanza Natural Protected Area (NPA), in addition to the 40 hectares that had already been protected by the company over the past nine years. Through this commitment, Pirelli will support the conservation of a total of 50.24 hectares, equivalent to an investment of 1.6 million pesos.
“Alliances and cooperation between the state government and the private sector are fundamental for strengthening programmes and the preservation of Guanajuato’s biodiversity,” said Maria Isabel Ortiz Mantilla, Guanajuato’s Secretary of Environment and Land Management (SMAOT).
As part of this signing, SMAOT invited the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. Ana Lorena Gudiño, director of the ADAPTUR project, served as a witness for the signing of the agreement. She emphasised the importance of the document because Pirelli, in addition to protecting the state’s biodiversity, is furthering its commitment to taking climate action through ecosystem-based adaptation measures to ensure better environmental and climatic conditions for the state.
This event strengthens cross-sectoral conservation efforts and demonstrates the extent to which multi-stakeholder work ensures the protection and conservation of the state’s biological diversity, ecosystem services such as water provision, soil conservation and protection of Guanajuato’s natural capital. It also supports the development of sustainable tourism, which is a very important economic activity for NPAs such as the Cuenca de la Esperanza.
After four years in Mexico, the Financing Low Carbon Infrastructure in Cities (FELICITY) project closes its activities with a bang in June 2022, by holding stakeholder sessions with representatives of the municipality of Naucalpan, the government of Mexico City and the Investment Unit of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP). During the sessions, the documents produced during the technical assistance with the counterparts were officially handed over.
FELICITY also co-organised the third virtual dialogue culminating in the Green and Inclusive Finance Festival 2022. This is the graphic report of the FELICITY session:
The video Felicity in one word was launched, which integrates the perspectives of several FELICITY partners around the world.
As a legacy of FELICITY, the document Story of Change generated by the FELICITY Global Project in Mexico was prepared, and the free online PreP course remains, which is still open and continues to allow the registration of new users interested in learning more about the preparation of low carbon projects:
Mobilising finance is key to addressing climate change and moving towards low-carbon and resilient economies. These efforts require multi-stakeholder and multi-sector collaboration that include youth, who are contributing to increasing the resilience of their communities by proposing innovative solutions, leading climate action and driving change for the sustainable future we all want to build.
Considering the importance of their inclusion, as part of the Festival of Green and Inclusive Finance 2022 (FFVI), the Working Group on Sustainable, Green and Climate Finance (GT-FIN SVC) of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the Tecnológico de Monterrey launched the national call “Youth in Action for Green Finance“. It aimed to create a space for dialogue for four youth projects to share their initiatives and achievements, and discuss the opportunities and challenges they face in financing the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement.
The four innovative projects selected from the call for proposals were presented during the “Youth in Action for Green Finance” session on the third day of the FFVI, where in addition to presenting their projects, the panellists engaged in a discussion about the central role of youth in driving green and inclusive finance, the impact of their projects in promoting the greening of the financial system, social inclusion and climate ambition. One thing that unites these projects, as Daisy Álvarez pointed out, is that they seek “holistic solutions, which consider all possible approaches to sustainable development”.
Below are the projects that participated in the FFVI:
EFT Verde – Daniela Carreón
ETT Verde proposes an investment fund initiative made up of a diverse portfolio of shares, bonds and commodities that seek to match the performance of an index, in this case of sustainable and socially responsible companies. Its goal is to generate a common heritage, a plurality of investments representing sustainable society where individual returns are established according to collective results. This academic initiative signals a real opportunity for the financial sector to take climate action.
EnerYOU: Women for Sustainability Fellowship – Graciela Rivera
The Women for Sustainability Scholarship (MXS Scholarship) is a co-investment initiative driven by the EdTech startup, EnerYOU, to reduce the gaps between knowledge, education and professionalisation, as well as to strengthen the labour inclusion of women in the energy and sustainability sector. Through professionalisation and knowledge creation, they will be able to contribute to climate action solutions that improve the planet and the communities in which they operate.
Mazahua High Yield Maize System. SMAR Jñatjo’o – Ivan Mendoza
SMAR Jñatjo’o seeks to connect the Mazahua community with ethical and profitable livelihood opportunities through the fusion of traditional knowledge and technology, with the aim of slowing soil erosion through ethical and sustainable agricultural processes. This project highlights the importance of including communities that face greater vulnerability to climate change, such as indigenous peoples, considering that Mexico’s natural system is sensitive to climate change and is exacerbated by anthropogenic activities such as land use change, mainly due to agricultural activities (ADCOM, 2022).
Building green and sustainable spaces for all – Daisy Álvarez
The Building Green and Sustainable Spaces for All project seeks the collaborative retrofitting of public spaces through sustainable structures such as planters with recycled materials, drip irrigation, phytoremediation for urban water and soil, and self-supply of electricity, which respond to and involve communities.
Youth are at the centre of climate action and are agents of change seeking to build a sustainable future. Creating spaces for multi-stakeholder dialogue that includes them is crucial to catalyse climate ambition and spread the word about the projects already underway.
We hope that by learning about these projects “more young people will believe and see that it is possible to make gradual progress on climate change issues with high-value projects”, as Ivan Mendoza said. Be part of the green generation!
Get to know the factsheet with the FFVI youth projects:
The global green finance ecosystem is evolving rapidly and steadily due to the importance of the financial sector in the fight against climate change. The Latin American Climate Assets Disclosure Initiative (LACADI) formed a committee with leading institutions in the Mexican financial system to coordinate and enhance the initiative’s work in Mexico.
The first working session was held on 30 June in Mexico City, where the first major milestone of the project was presented, a document that analyses and describes the main barriers for institutional investors to adopt climate disclosure practices and include climate risks and opportunities in their investment decisions.
Participants agreed to work closely with regulators and supervisors to establish the necessary market conditions, and to promote climate disclosure by institutional investors. Similarly, they will continue to meet the high demand for training on climate issues and the transition to decarbonisation, coordinating closely with the Green Finance Advisory Council (CCFV), the TCFD Consortium of Mexico, the Committee on Sustainable Finance and other international initiatives.
After two years collaborating on the creation of a science-based dialogue around Mexico’s Emissions Trading System (ETS), the book “Towards an Emissions Trading System in Mexico: Rationale, Design and Connections with the Global Climate Agenda” was presented.
The book, the first of its kind in Latin America and the Caribbean, includes contributions from more than 20 researchers from various public and private universities in Mexico and other countries. Coordinated by Dr. Simone Lucatello of the Mora Institute, the book compiles, through fourteen chapters divided into three parts, a set of reflections and perspectives on key aspects of the ETS and its operational elements.
The book was published by Springer in an Open Access format, allowing for free access to its contents. The publication has been well received by ETS analysists and researchers in Mexico and abroad. Although not in a print format, the digital version of the book already has more than 25,000 downloads.
The event aimed to provide a platform for discussing the co-authored book on the Emissions Trading System (ETS) in Mexico, with the goal of presenting the primary conclusions and ideas contained in the publication and highlighting the role of the academic and research sector in the implementation of an ETS in Mexico.
Welcoming remarks were given by Gustavo Sosa from the Dr. José María Luis Mora Research Institute; Suriel Islas from the General Directorate of Climate Change Policies (DGPCC) of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT); and Vanesa Villa from SiCEM. Two introductory presentations followed: one on the process of dialogue with the academic sector on the ETS by Juan Carlos Mendoza, technical advisor to SiCEM from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (German Sustainable Development Cooperation); the second a general presentation of the book, its scope and main discussions by the book’s editor, Simone Lucatello.
Key actors for the Mexican ETS gave comments on the book. Suriel Islas, Deputy Director of Monitoring Actions to Promote Sustainable Development of SEMARNAT, stressed the importance of books like this one as a reference for students interested in the subject. He congratulated the authors for the publication of the book and described it as a great step towards analysing, studying and deepening knowledge on the ETS in Mexico.
José Ramón Ardavín, Executive Director of the Commission of Private Sector Studies for Sustainable Development (CESPEDES), stressed that the Mexican ETS was the first in Latin America, and highlighted the important support of the German Government and GIZ in the development and implementation of the ETS. Ardavín underlined the significance of having bodies that encourage participation in the ETS framework, such as the Consultative Committee of the Emissions Trading System (COCOSCE), an important forum to strengthen cooperation and dialogue between academia, the regulatory sector and authorities.
Finally, Dr. Francisco Estrada Porrúa, General Coordinator of the UNAM’s Climate Change Research Programme (PINCC), highlighted that the fact that this publication is the first book of its kind in Latin America is a sign of the importance of including science in decision-making for climate action. The ETS exemplifies a cost-effective mechanism to meet Mexico’s climate goals.
As part of the event’s closing, the publication’s authors exchanged perspectives and opinions, thus fostering a multi-stakeholder debate on the ETS. In addition to these perspectives, SEMARNAT highlighted the importance of establishing alliances with the private sector, academia and civil society for improving the design and operation of Mexico’s ETS. It acknowledged the role of GIZ in implementing the ETS, the work of several years and how it contributed to the design of the next phases of the system.
The event took place on 5 July 2022, and was organised by GIZ through the SiCEM project, and the Instituto de Investigaciones Dr. José María Luis Mora. Held in the Mora Institute’s auditorium, more than 80 people, both in person and online, joined the initiative seeking to continue promoting dialogue on the ETS. SiCEM will continue to promote similar events and a participatory ETS with the academic sector.
