Accelerating Access to Low-Carbon Urban Mobility Solutions through Digitalization (ACCESS) is a joint programme involving ten organizations across six Latin American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru. The programme aims to introduce digitalization policies and tools into urban transport systems to reduce emissions. The programme is transformative and will benefit people in each participating country who use urban transport by providing more low-carbon mobility options, resulting in cleaner and healthier environments. It will also generate benefits for different levels of national and subnational governments, as well as for the private sector.
Implementing Partners
▪ United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
▪ Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP)
▪ Wuppertal Institute (WI)
▪ Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI)
▪ Centro de Movilidad Sostenible (CMS)
▪ Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
▪ Digital Impact Alliance (DIAL)
▪ Technische Universität Berlin (TUB)
▪ United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
▪ United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN Habitat)
Initial situation
To limit global warming and, therefore, the impacts of climate change, investment is required in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and measures that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Global Climate Partnership Fund (GCPF) provides this financing to developing and emerging countries. In 2025, the Fund will also focus on providing adaptation financing. Financing is provided either as a direct investment in specific projects or made available to local financial institutions. These institutions then manage the funds in the form of loans to small and medium-sized enterprises or private households. The GCPF is registered in Luxembourg and is managed by responsAbility Investments AG. The Fund increases the effectiveness of public funding by mobilizing additional financing from public and private investors for climate mitigation projects.
Starting as an initiative of BMUB and KfW, the GCPF evolved into a broadly supported public-private partnership. Current shareholders include the United Kingdom Government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DANIDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Austrian Development Bank (OeEB), the Dutch Development Bank (FMO), a Switzerland-based asset management company responsible for managing the Fund, the German Physicians’ Pension Fund (ÄVWL), and the Dutch private bank ASN.
Objectives
Enable, attract, and mobilize additional capital from other investors to scale climate solutions in their own markets over the coming decades.
Support the development of climate-positive business models through comprehensive capacity building, peer-to-peer knowledge exchange across different markets, and skills development by providing tailored advisory expertise throughout the life cycle of each investment.
Activities
Mobilize investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy (EE/RE).
Promote the mitigation of more than 23 million tonnes of CO2 through GCPF-designed credit lines and direct investments currently deployed in 27 countries.
Provide technical assistance to support the preparation of additional climate-friendly investments based on feasibility studies, environmental impact assessments, construction permits, or the development of new and locally adapted EE/RE loan products.
Support its partners in collecting data on achieved GHG mitigation to ensure quality control.
Initial situation
In December 2022, the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and the associated package of decisions. The package includes a global monitoring framework and mechanisms for planning, monitoring, reporting, and review. The monitoring framework includes indicators to be used by Parties for planning, monitoring, and reporting on the implementation of national targets and the agreed global goals and targets. This places greater emphasis on transparency in implementation, which will require strengthened national capacities for monitoring across the full scope of the GBF, as well as improved biodiversity data and information management as a basis for planning, implementation, monitoring, and reporting on progress.
Objectives
Develop inclusive, collaborative, and coordinated approaches to improve national biodiversity monitoring systems for the effective implementation of the GBF.
Activities
To date, ten countries have been identified for implementation.
Bilateral agreements are being established to specify the activities to be carried out at the national level.
Launched in 2010, the Partnership for Market Implementation (PMI) is helping to establish carbon markets in developing, emerging, and transition countries. Germany is one of the 12 donors to the Partnership. The World Bank serves as the secretariat. Guided by the needs of partner countries, the PMI applies a range of approaches, including the development of national emissions trading systems and new market instruments, such as new market mechanisms, CO2 emissions taxes, and national certification standards.
The PMI functions both as a dialogue forum for technical exchange and as a trust fund for the development, testing, and implementation of new carbon market instruments. Its work is also helping to establish systems for monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) of emission reductions, while expanding resources and specialized knowledge.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched the global initiative “Biodiversity Finance Initiative – BIOFIN” in 2012, with the support of various donors, to address current financial challenges in meeting international commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Aichi Targets, and to propose actions that help channel greater resources toward the conservation and sustainable use of natural capital.
Mexico joined this initiative in 2015, and analyses on regulations and public policy, biodiversity expenditure, and financing needs have since been published. Possible solutions have also been proposed to channel greater public and private resources, integrate sustainability criteria into the productive sectors of the economy, increase awareness of biodiversity’s importance, and highlight the benefits of investing in it.
Financing for biodiversity conservation in Mexico is insufficient and poorly diversified. Historically, conservation resources came mainly from the public sector. BIOFIN Mexico recognizes that the financing gap cannot be closed through the public budget alone. It therefore works to develop innovative financial solutions beyond increasing public expenditure, involving other actors and sectors. The financial and private sectors are increasingly seeking to incorporate and consider biodiversity in their financial portfolios, either as a profitable investment or as an element to be considered in their potential financial and non-financial risks. BIOFIN is taking advantage of the opportunity to engage these sectors and develop financial mechanisms that generate economic benefits as well as social and environmental impacts.
Key results
Design of the Sustainable Fund, a financial instrument that will channel international, national, public, and private resources at the national level.
Mobilization of USD 294 from irrigation districts toward Payments for Environmental Services through the matching funds mechanism, conserving 7,300 ha.
Support for the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) in negotiating with the Ministry of Finance the return of rights-fee revenues, leveraging USD 2 million.
Creation of the Bioeconomy Acceleration Fund with more than 190 applications, providing financing and technical assistance to 10 projects and ensuring social and biodiversity impacts.
Development of Financing Solution Plans and implementation of biodiversity financing mechanisms at the subnational level, resulting in strengthened public funds; creation of Green Investment Offices; and promotion of spending efficiency and public policy alignment.
Recommendations for the financial sector on the most appropriate principles and standards that could be implemented to support regulatory improvements.
Leveraging additional resources from international cooperation agencies, international financial institutions, civil society organizations, and subnational governments.
The agricultural sector can make a significant contribution to ecosystem protection. The project creates incentives for biodiversity-friendly coffee, cocoa, and banana production, thereby promoting a broad transformation toward biodiversity-friendly agriculture. Through comprehensive analyses, it examines entry points for financial solutions as well as the ecological, economic, and political potential for change. The project develops and implements risk financing solutions for the large-scale adoption of biodiversity-friendly practices. Agricultural organizations train microenterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises in biodiversity-friendly farming practices and access to finance. Communication campaigns disseminate recommendations aimed at policymakers, consumers, and companies to raise awareness of the importance of biodiversity for risk reduction, resilience, and adaptation.
Objective
The main objective of BioFinCas is to transform current agricultural practices toward methods that are biodiversity-friendly and climate-resilient, providing better protection for small-scale producers through accessible financing solutions.
Areas of work and impact
The project promotes agricultural practices that conserve biodiversity and increase resilience to climate change through awareness campaigns, workshops, and practical recommendations.
By providing concessional financing through blended finance structures, along with advisory services when necessary, the Fund facilitates the testing, replication, and scaling of innovative business models and technologies.
Objectives
Support and mobilize private sector investment in climate mitigation projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).
Contribute to the decarbonization of industries, improve climate resilience in infrastructure and production facilities, and diversify fossil fuel-dependent sectors to ensure a just energy transition.
Attract local institutional investors and promote the development of local financial markets.
The objective of the program is to provide methods and tools to policymakers and other stakeholders from initially up to 20 developing countries, to support the development of national (“domestic”) MRV systems tailored to their respective national circumstances.
The program consists of two pillars:
1) Development of an MRV framework for GHG mitigation, sustainable development, and impacts that transform climate protection strategies and measures;
2) MRV capacity building to strengthen national (“domestic”) MRV systems and establish institutional arrangements. The initiative aims to fund activities at national, regional, and global levels that yield immediate and long-term—as well as direct and indirect—effects, leading to sustainable improvements in countries’ administrative, legislative, and institutional MRV infrastructure. This includes project preparatory activities (e.g., methods, software, etc.), consultancy, technical assistance, and the establishment of partnerships through peer-to-peer exchanges.
The project “Strategic Support for the Operational Phase of Mexico’s Emissions Trading System,” implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (German Technical Cooperation) in Mexico, provides technical support to the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) in the transition to the first operational phase of Mexico’s Emissions Trading System (SCE).
Among the project’s objectives is to strengthen the interoperability of the registry and information management platforms of Mexico’s SCE (Registry) and the Carbon Registry of the National Emissions Registry. In Mexico’s SCE, offset credits are part of the flexible mechanisms that regulated sectors can use to meet their obligations to surrender emission allowances. Currently, emission allowances and offset credits are registered on two different platforms—the Registry and the Carbon Registry, respectively—which hinders the proper integration of offset credits into the regulated market.
On August 6, 2026, the kick-off meeting for the specialized technical support process aimed at the development and interoperability of the SCE Registry with the Carbon Registry of Mexico’s National Emissions Registry was held at SEMARNAT’s offices. The session was attended by representatives from SEMARNAT’s General Directorate of Climate Action Policies (DGPAC), the World Bank’s Partnership for Market Implementation, UK cooperation, Notland, and GIZ. The meeting marked the formal start of a working process aimed at identifying the institutional needs, processes, functional requirements, and information flows necessary to move toward adequate interoperability between the two platforms.
During the session, participants highlighted the importance of having functional tools that build on Mexico’s experience and progress in MRV while also providing a more comprehensive view of the processes associated with registering mitigation projects with the Mexican authority. In the context of SEMARNAT’s ongoing analysis of the role that offset projects can play, the interoperability initiative aims to lay a solid technological foundation for its eventual integration with Mexico’s SCE, thereby helping to strengthen the transparency, traceability, and environmental integrity of the instrument—key to achieving Mexico’s mitigation targets.
The support process will be carried out with NotLand’s technical expertise and under GIZ’s coordination. Through technical sessions, SEMARNAT’s needs will be identified and integrated in order to define the functional requirements necessary to strengthen the interoperability of both platforms and contribute to the operational effectiveness of Mexico’s SCE.
Representatives from the DGPAC, NotLand, the World Bank, UK aid, and GIZ Mexico who attended the meeting. Credit: GIZ Mexico – Ma. Fernanda Suárez Gómez.
Participants discussing the current features of the Carbon Registry. Credit: GIZ Mexico – Sheccid Sarai Gómez Balvás.
Credit: Florian Kopp.
Strengthening local capacities to prevent, respond to, and recover from the impacts of climate change is a key element in building more resilient territories. To this end, two events were held: a workshop on emergency protocols for hydrometeorological events at Loyola del Pacífico University in Acapulco, Guerrero; and the First Regional Training Forum on Risk Management and Resilient Recovery at the Intercultural University of the State of Hidalgo (UICEH) in Tenango de Doria.
The forums were organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Mexico, in coordination with state Civil Protection agencies, the state Environment Secretariats, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH—through the Mexican-German Climate Change Alliance, funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI)—the Mexican Center for Philanthropy (CEMEFI), the National Center for Support for Epidemiological Contingencies and Disasters (CENACED), and Fomento Social Banamex.
The gatherings brought together just over 120 representatives from municipal governments, public institutions, civil society organizations, indigenous communities, community water committees, and academia—hailing from municipalities such as Acapulco and Chilpancingo in Guerrero, as well as Tenango de Doria, San Bartolo Tutotepec, Huehuetla, and Santiago Tulantepec in Hidalgo. Through forums for exchange and collaborative work, participants strengthened their capacities to improve preparedness and response regarding hydrometeorological emergencies.
During the training, methodological tools developed by the UNDP for the creation of community emergency plans were presented, utilizing a participatory and inclusive approach that takes into account the differentiated needs of women, men, older persons, youth, indigenous peoples, and persons with disabilities.
Likewise, topics such as the identification of risks and vulnerabilities, the formation of community brigades, early warning systems, coordination between communities and municipalities, and the forging of agreements to strengthen prevention and territorial resilience were addressed.
This process contributes directly to the implementation of Guerrero’s State Climate Change Strategy (EECC) and Hidalgo’s State Climate Change Action Program (PEACC) by fostering institutional and community capacities to implement adaptation measures and integrated disaster risk management. In this effort, the Mexican-German Climate Change Alliance facilitated coordination among participating institutions, strengthening collaboration among the various individuals and organizations involved.
Through initiatives of this kind, the Mexican-German Climate Change Alliance continues to drive actions that strengthen local capacities to address the challenges of climate change, fostering greater coordination among institutions, communities, and other key stakeholders to build more resilient territories.
Workshop on Emergency Protocols for Hydrometeorological Phenomena, Acapulco, Guerrero. Credits: GIZ Mexico – Arturo Palero.
Workshop on Emergency Protocols for Hydrometeorological Phenomena, Acapulco, Guerrero. Credits: GIZ Mexico – Arturo Palero.
Workshop on Emergency Protocols for Hydrometeorological Phenomena, Acapulco, Guerrero. Credits: GIZ Mexico – Arturo Palero.
Workshop on Emergency Protocols for Hydrometeorological Phenomena, Acapulco, Guerrero. Credits: GIZ Mexico – Arturo Palero.
