The objective of the programme is to protect and restore lakes and wetlands, their surrounding landscapes, and their biodiversity in the 10 participating countries and beyond. The focus is on capacity-building activities for all stakeholders involved in lake and wetland management, including local authorities, regional administrations, and civil society, in order to reduce the impacts of agriculture, fisheries, tourism, and other activities on aquatic ecosystems. The programme also develops and promotes innovative techniques for the protection and restoration of lakes and wetlands, including wastewater treatment, pollution prevention, restoration, invasive species management, and biodiversity-friendly agriculture.
Thirdly, the programme promotes the dissemination of transferable results and lessons learned at the regional, national, and global levels through the International Living Lakes Network, as well as improved implementation of lake protection legislation and management plans by empowering civil society and strengthening its participation in stakeholder consultations.
The programme supports small-scale rural producers in the states of Campeche, Tabasco, Chiapas, Jalisco, Michoacán, Oaxaca, Puebla, Hidalgo, and Tlaxcala in adapting their production systems to climate change, improving land-use management policy at the national and subnational levels, and promoting climate-responsive financing mechanisms to help the country meet its commitments under the Sustainable Development Goals, climate change, and biodiversity.
The programme promotes the adaptation, restoration, and conservation of rural landscapes, ensuring food security and income for small-scale producers while increasing their resilience. To achieve this, it will promote ecosystem-based adaptation strategies through sustainable production and the implementation of innovative financing mechanisms, using an integrated land-use planning approach that takes food, biodiversity, and climate change objectives into account.
To protect forests, the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) stipulates that the import of various agricultural products into the European Union requires proof of deforestation-free production. This represents a challenge for small-scale producers who lack the information and the financial and technical means needed to provide such proof. To maintain market access, the project supports Mexican coffee and cocoa producer cooperatives through capacity building and the development of a digital tool for data generation and verification of deforestation-free production, based on requirements developed participatively with local stakeholders. Local promoters use the tool to support small-scale producers in implementing and verifying the deforestation-free status of coffee and cocoa. To strengthen North-South cooperation, actors along the supply chain are building a framework of shared responsibility. Synergies with other projects, stakeholder networks, and the use of the ELAN platform create multiplier effects.
Objectives
Promote deforestation-free coffee and cocoa production by small-scale producers in southeastern Mexico by strengthening local cooperatives through capacity building and the development of a digital tool for data generation and production verification, based on requirements defined participatively by local stakeholders.
Activities
Promote the use of innovative technology for monitoring and data analysis among small-scale producers regarding their deforestation-free production chains.
Improve monitoring, long-term analysis, and data-based adjustments in the production of cooperatives and small-scale producers to facilitate access to the European market and strengthen their competitiveness.
The participation of European importers ensures the functionality and dissemination of the digital solution and creates a framework of shared responsibility. Information on the EUDR and the digital solution will be disseminated through the platform for deforestation-free supply chains (ELAN) during the course of the project.
Initial situation
To shift financial flows, it is also essential to consider fiscal policy and green budgeting approaches. Ministries of finance in Latin America and the Caribbean are becoming increasingly aware of climate change and the importance of fiscal policy in this regard, but the scale of the challenge requires greater action. The Fund contributes to the successful design and implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions and long-term strategies. It also supports the regional climate change platform for ministries of finance to facilitate knowledge exchange. These activities help countries achieve greater efficiency in climate-related spending and support fiscal policies for the transition toward net-zero emissions and climate-resilient economies.
Objectives
Support the design, implementation, and evaluation of initiatives to increase the transparency, effectiveness, and efficiency of climate-related fiscal policies.
Activities
Integrate the fiscal dimension into the design of long-term climate strategies and NDCs; address macro-fiscal climate risks; promote green budgeting; strengthen public investment management for resilience and decarbonization; develop green procurement systems; and evaluate and reform fiscal policy.
Create working groups on debt management and green financing, fiscal incentives, and public expenditure.
Publish knowledge products and provide tailored training.
Create a website, a quarterly newsletter, and an internal online community for platform members.
Develop innovative tools, such as recorded masterclasses, while strengthening partnerships with relevant stakeholders including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Pacific Alliance, the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action, the Latin American and Caribbean Results-Based Budgeting Network, and the Network of National Public Investment Systems of Latin America and the Caribbean, thereby expanding opportunities for collaboration and mutual learning.
Implement a follow-up mechanism to monitor the use of products developed through the platform and the implementation of green fiscal policies.
Initial situation
The project provides technical assistance to countries for the planning and implementation of their third Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0). This is carried out through three different lines of work. At the international and regional levels, the project helps countries increase their climate ambition through evidence-based information and guidance. To support planning and target-setting at the national and subnational levels, it develops and pilots a methodology/framework to integrate NDCs with other development planning instruments, for example in biodiversity, energy, and adaptation.
To help ensure financing for these objectives, the project provides an in-depth assessment of needs, financing gaps, and sectoral pathways, as well as tailored assistance in the development of investment plans, project portfolios, and capacity building.
Objectives
Support Mexico in the planning and implementation of its NDC 3.0 through evidence-based technical assistance, the integration of NDCs with other development planning instruments, and strengthened capacities to mobilize financing and increase climate ambition.
Initial situation
Mexico faces the challenge of accelerating the implementation of climate action and biodiversity conservation measures in a context of increasing vulnerability to climate change and increasingly ambitious national and international commitments. Achieving a just and resilient transition requires strengthening coordination among different levels of government, promoting the participation of diverse sectors of society, and expanding access to financing mechanisms that enable public policies to be translated into action at the territorial level. In this context, cooperation between Mexico and Germany contributes to strengthening institutional capacities, developing public policy instruments, exchanging knowledge, and implementing innovative solutions that integrate climate action, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable development.
Overall objective
The project supports the Government of Mexico in achieving its climate change and biodiversity objectives by strengthening institutional frameworks, developing and implementing public policy instruments, and promoting financing mechanisms for climate action and biodiversity conservation.
Through an integrated approach that connects national, subnational, and territorial levels, the project promotes greenhouse gas emissions mitigation, ecosystem-based adaptation, biodiversity conservation, and the strengthening of community and ecosystem resilience. It also promotes political dialogue, knowledge exchange between Mexico and Germany, and knowledge management through the IKI Interface function, with the aim of strengthening cooperation and accelerating the implementation of innovative solutions for a just and sustainable transition.
Context
In Mexico, the functions of the IKI Interface are coordinated through the Mexican-German Climate Change Alliance (AMACC), which facilitates technical and political dialogue between Mexico and Germany (Output 1), strengthens climate and biodiversity policies (Output 2), and promotes financial mechanisms for actions at the territorial level (Outputs 3 and 4), contributing to the strengthening of enabling, support, and technical frameworks.
AMACC also promotes coordination and the mainstreaming of climate and biodiversity criteria, incorporating gender, human rights, and intersectionality perspectives across the environmental, water, forestry, fisheries, agricultural, tourism, and energy sectors.
Activities
Output I: Climate and biodiversity dialogue between the German and Mexican governments and other IKI projects.
The project strengthens political dialogue and technical cooperation between Mexico and Germany to promote the exchange of experiences, capacity development, and the joint development of solutions related to climate action, biodiversity, and sustainable finance.
Through the IKI Interface, it promotes knowledge exchange, coordination among projects of the International Climate Initiative (IKI), and the dissemination of good practices, strengthening collaboration among public institutions, international organizations, academia, civil society, and the private sector.
It also facilitates spaces for dialogue, learning, and cooperation on strategic issues such as just transition, biodiversity, water, forests, sustainable agriculture, fisheries and tourism, as well as climate finance, contributing to stronger bilateral cooperation between Mexico and Germany.
The exchange of experiences strengthens the partnerships needed to advance more effective climate and biodiversity action.
Output II: Strengthening the planning and implementation of climate and biodiversity action.
The project provides technical cooperation to federal institutions and subnational governments to strengthen the design, updating, and implementation of public policy instruments related to climate change, biodiversity, and resilient development.
It supports the development and implementation of strategies, plans, and tools that contribute to meeting Mexico’s national and international commitments, including the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), biodiversity instruments, sectoral strategies, and capacity-building mechanisms.
It promotes the integration of cross-cutting approaches such as gender equality, human rights, youth participation, and intersectionality into climate and biodiversity policy, strengthening multilevel governance and coordination among public stakeholders.
It also promotes the development of climate and biodiversity policy instruments at the state level, strengthening institutional capacities and the implementation of actions adapted to territorial contexts.
Output III: Financing distributed renewable energy generation projects focused on social, environmental, and economic co-benefits.
The project promotes distributed renewable energy generation models that strengthen access to clean energy in communities while generating social, environmental, and economic benefits.
It provides technical assistance to identify, design, and strengthen community renewable energy projects, facilitating access to financing mechanisms and promoting sustainable management models.
It also promotes innovative solutions that strengthen local economic development, community resilience, and the energy transition through partnerships with public, private, and financial stakeholders.
Financing and clean energy enable solutions that strengthen local economies and community resilience.
Output IV: Financing and implementation of ecosystem-based adaptation
The project strengthens ecosystem-based adaptation initiatives through technical assistance and innovative financing mechanisms that promote biodiversity conservation and strengthen territorial resilience.
Through FinTank Mentoring, it supports communities and local organizations in developing projects with investment potential, strengthening their capacities to access financing and implement nature-based solutions.
It also promotes the scaling up of territorial initiatives and fosters partnerships with public, private, and philanthropic stakeholders to expand the impact of adaptation and conservation actions.
Initial situation
Water scarcity is becoming an increasingly serious problem in many parts of Mexico. Climate change intensifies the situation, affecting the availability, distribution, and quality of water resources. The discharge of untreated wastewater into ecosystems causes ecological, health, and social problems, while the overuse of groundwater is increasing.
For this reason, the Mexican government has made water resource management a national priority. This project includes a monitoring, participatory management, and financing approach that ensures sustainability. It also promotes knowledge exchange with Germany and supports the scaling up of successful solutions at the local and national levels.
Objectives
Improve the enabling conditions for climate-resilient water management in the Valley of Mexico.
Strengthen coordination among different stakeholders and implement pilot nature-based solutions to improve water production and infiltration in ecosystems.
Initial situation
Implementing NDCs in emerging markets requires substantial amounts of financing, for which the financial sector plays a fundamental role. However, several factors, such as limited support for climate finance opportunities and a lack of consistent policies, have so far prevented sufficient mobilization of funds. To increase climate lending, the project supports the creation of national markets for climate finance in partner countries. It follows a holistic approach, working at the level of policy, market, and financial institutions. This includes aligning financial sector strategies to support NDC implementation. In addition, by 2030, the share of climate lending in the total credit portfolio of participating banks will increase significantly, while climate- and carbon-related risks are reduced. Finally, the project promotes climate investments through the development of national green bond markets.
Objectives
Help financial institutions, especially banks, incorporate improved green finance strategies into their investment plans, reduce climate risks, and ultimately reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Work with financial institutions to strengthen their role as aggregators of climate finance by increasing climate-related lending to 30 percent of their total portfolio on average, with near-zero coal exposure by 2030.
Activities
Support the regulation of sustainable finance policies with public institutions and financial authorities to advance sustainable finance regulations aligned with development policy lending.
Improve smallholder farmers’ access to finance through electronic warehouse receipts (EWRs) as part of sustainable agricultural finance.
Provide advisory support for the first sustainability-linked bond (SLB) issued by a financial institution in Mexico to expand sustainable SME financing and participate in key industry events to promote sustainable capital markets.
Build capacity and provide advisory services to financial institutions, including green building certification.
Create a roadmap to scale up financing for distributed renewable energy generation projects and seek advice from external legal and energy experts to align recommendations with Mexico’s evolving regulatory landscape.
Initial situation
Indigenous Peoples and local communities play a crucial role in the conservation of biological diversity. The project supports these communities in 45 countries in preserving their traditional habitats and protecting biodiversity. Among other approaches, this was carried out through a small grants fund. Knowledge and resources were also strengthened within local communities to manage and conserve protected areas.
The habitats of Indigenous communities living in these areas also needed to be improved and safeguarded. Traditional knowledge and practices should be recognized and addressed in government planning processes. Partner countries also received advice on implementing their protected area strategies. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the project was expanded to mitigate the direct impacts of the pandemic and contribute to pandemic prevention.
Objectives
Increase the visibility of traditional biodiversity-related knowledge and the contributions of Indigenous Peoples and local communities to biodiversity conservation and climate action, in order to achieve the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF) and the Paris Agreement.
Create a network of well-managed protected areas.
Activities
Strengthen the leadership and technical capacity of Indigenous Peoples.
Rediscover native seeds and conservation methods to promote environmental and economic sustainability.
Improve the skills of Indigenous youth to lead action on climate-resilient agriculture.
Revitalize Indigenous conservation methods to safeguard wetlands.
Establish the first agroforestry concession managed by Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
Context
Pollinators are crucial for plant reproduction, food security, and the conservation of ecosystems and their biodiversity. In Latin America, pollinating insect populations are also severely threatened despite their great importance. The main causes are changes in land-use patterns, habitat loss, pesticide use, diseases, invasive species, and climate change.
Objectives
Protect natural ecosystems and adapt productive (agricultural) systems to safeguard pollinator ecosystem services and reduce the vulnerability of local communities associated with pollinator decline in Latin America.
Contribute to international efforts by strengthening regional knowledge management, promoting policies, and mobilizing resources, including private financing.
Implement pollinator-friendly practices in selected landscapes.
Areas of work and impacts
Knowledge management of pollinator populations
Support for the management of planning instruments for conservation. Promotion of good agricultural practices that respect biodiversity and pollinators.
NACAG is a global initiative aimed at reducing nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from nitric acid production. The initiative provides advice to governments and domestic producers on abatement technologies and public policies for regulating emissions in the sector. It also offers financial support for the purchase and installation of abatement technologies and N2O monitoring equipment. This support is available only to countries eligible to receive Official Development Assistance (ODA) that have joined the initiative.
Context
During COP21 in Paris in 2015, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) announced the creation of the Nitric Acid Climate Action Group (NACAG), with the aim of promoting the installation of technologies to reduce N2O emissions in the global nitric acid sector. In this context, NACAG seeks to mitigate N2O emissions generated by nitric acid production and incorporate these reductions into the fulfillment of the Nationally Determined Contributions of countries participating in the initiative.
The NACAG initiative is aligned with the framework of the Paris Agreement, as the German government provides climate finance while partner countries are encouraged to assume responsibility for reducing emissions in the future.
As a global action group, NACAG is open to all countries, whether as partner countries or donors.
Why the nitric acid sector?
Nitric acid is an important product for the chemical industry, as it is used to produce nitrogen-based fertilizers. However, its manufacturing process emits N2O, a potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential 265 times greater than that of carbon dioxide (CO2).
Although emission abatement technologies are available at a comparatively low cost, the N2O generated during nitric acid production continues to be released into the atmosphere in most countries around the world. This is mainly because producers lack adequate incentives to invest in mitigation technologies, since these technologies do not provide a competitive advantage. This is compounded by the near-global absence of mechanisms regulating emissions in this sector.
Global nitric acid production is relatively centralized, with approximately 580 industrial plants producing 6.5 million tonnes of nitric acid annually. Most of these producers operate in developed countries that are not eligible to receive NACAG financing and where legislation regulating N2O emissions in the sector is already in place.
In this regard, reducing N2O emissions from nitric acid production will contribute to achieving the targets established under the Paris Agreement to keep the increase in global temperature below 2°C above pre-industrial levels. The nitric acid sector in developing countries is estimated to have a mitigation potential of approximately 200 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
Financing
NACAG provides financial support for reducing nitrous oxide emissions from nitric acid plants located in countries eligible for Official Development Assistance (ODA). Both existing N2O reduction projects and entirely new projects can be financed. NACAG provides financial support to individual nitric acid plant operators for their emission reduction activities, provided that the country where the plant is located is committed to maintaining emission reductions after 2020.
Two financing mechanisms are available. Mechanism I provides nitric acid plant operators with grants covering the investment, maintenance, and monitoring costs of abatement technology. Under Mechanism II, NACAG, in cooperation with the World Bank, offers to purchase emission credits generated by N2O reduction projects at prices determined through specially designed auctions.
Technical support
The NACAG Secretariat provides technical support to all stakeholders interested in participating in the reduction of nitrous oxide emissions from nitric acid production. The initiative provides plant operators with specific and tailored advice on the most appropriate abatement technology, its installation and operation, as well as the operational requirements for monitoring emission reductions.
In addition, the NACAG Secretariat advises governments on mechanisms for regulating nitrous oxide emissions. Under the Paris Agreement, all countries must formulate, submit, and periodically review their climate change mitigation activities and targets in the form of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). NACAG aims for all countries to include nitrous oxide emission reductions in their NDCs and establish effective mechanisms to ensure long-term emission reductions.
How to join NACAG?
The initiative is open to all stakeholders, including governments, institutions, and private-sector representatives, that wish to support the goal of sustainably reducing nitrous oxide emissions from nitric acid production.
Governments are also invited to sign the Statement of Undertaking and thereby formally join NACAG. This document includes a commitment to permanently mitigate nitrous oxide emissions from nitric acid plants from 2021 onward.
Plant operators based in countries that have joined NACAG can apply for grants by completing and signing the grant application. If the application is successful, plant operators can receive technical advice and financial support to install and operate abatement technology.
According to the World Economic Forum, USD 44 trillion of global economic output, around half of the world economy, is moderately or highly exposed to nature-related risks. The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) is developing an integrated, market-led global risk management and disclosure framework. This framework provides the basis for companies to report on their impacts and dependencies on nature, as well as related risks and opportunities. This information will help shift global capital flows and steer the world economy toward nature-positive outcomes. It will also better inform governments, financial markets, community groups, and citizens when making decisions toward more sustainable prosperity.
Objective
This project will help companies and financial institutions around the world include nature-related financial information in their financial statements.
