Tag: Klimawandel

More than 500 people representing various organizations from the power sector, lime, cement, mining, oil and gas sectors, among others, who participate in the Emissions Trading System (ETS) of Mexico were part of the second edition of the Training on the ETS for regulated sectors.

Between September and November 2022, 5 thematic modules were developed throughout 25 work sessions, totaling 50 hours of training.

This training was implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (German Cooperation for Sustainable Development), the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) and in collaboration with the international team of Carbon Limits. It had the participation of national and international experts involved in the design and implementation of the ETS in various jurisdictions, who shared their knowledge and experience in operational, financial and management areas to consolidate their knowledge on the operation of this market instrument oriented to the effective reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions.

The distribution of topics throughout the five modules was established as follows:

  • The first module provided the international and national context on general concepts around the ETS, as a carbon pricing instrument, characteristics and differences with other mechanisms.
  • Module two consisted of the context under which the System has been developed in Mexico, its particularities and operation, such as the regulated sectors, emission threshold, compliance cycles and obligations of the participants.
  • Module three was dedicated to the analysis of key aspects during the Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) process, good practices, and the main challenges and experiences to contribute to the fulfillment of your company’s obligations.
  • In module four, the main considerations on trade and finances of an ETS, basic concepts of trading, transactions and negotiations and investments in mitigation projects were addressed.
  • Finally, the last module included topics on organizational structure, carbon management, challenges and opportunities for compliance.

By facilitating these types of spaces, the GIZ SiCEM project continues to provide technical support to SEMARNAT in the creation and strengthening of institutional and technical conditions for the implementation of the ETS in Mexico, aligned with national climate goals.

Mangroves, salt marshes, and seagrasses make up blue carbon ecosystems, named for their ability to capture and store carbon. They are extremely important because they reduce the risks and negative impacts of climate change, protect coastal areas from storms and hurricanes, in addition to contributing to the well-being of communities. Mexico is the fourth country in the world with the largest extension of mangroves (CONANP, 2017) so it is crucial to protect these ecosystems and reduce the rates of degradation and loss.

In this sense, the Secretariat of Well-being and Sustainable Development of Sinaloa (SEBIDES) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (German Cooperation for Sustainable Development), through the Mexican-German Climate Change Alliance, together with The College of Environmental Engineers of Mexico (CINAM), organized the virtual presentation of the results of the project “Carbon reservoir and vulnerability of the mangrove swamp of the Santa María Lagoon System – La Reforma, in the municipality of Angostura, Sinaloa“. The purpose of the event was to share the lessons learned that could be of interest for the development of future projects in the other coastal states of the country.

 

The session began with the words of Ms. Yamel Rubio Rocha, Undersecretary of SEBIDES, and Mr. Álvaro Luna, Principal Advisor of the Mexican-German Climate Change Alliance of GIZ Mexico, who highlighted the importance of promoting multi-sector work around blue carbon for the conservation of biodiversity, as well as mitigation and adaptation to change climate.

Subsequently, Engineer Adolfo Lara from CINAM, presented the particularities of the project, which was carried out through a participatory process with federal, state and municipal government institutions, state higher education institutions, civil and fishermen associations, as well as the citizens of the municipality of La Angostura. It was composed of four axes:

  • The evaluation of the mangrove carbon reservoir of the lagoon system.
  • The determination of the vulnerability of the carbon reservoir against hydrometeorological phenomena and environmental deterioration due to human activities.
  • The proposal of actions for the conservation of the carbon reservoir and sustainable use of natural resources.
  • The transfer of the knowledge obtained from the project to the inhabitants of the region and the federal entities of the country with similar characteristics.

Among the main results, he highlighted the great capacity of the mangrove to store carbon and the need to protect this ecosystem due to its importance in reducing marine erosion and flooding caused by storm surges.

The information repository on the project available to the general public was presented, which stores all the documents and information relevant to the study. Check it here.

To close the session, Dr. Jorge Siller from SEBIDES, Mtra. Yuriana González from GIZ Mexico and Eng. Alberto Cruzado from CINAM, emphasized the importance of determining the dimensions of the carbon reservoir and its vulnerability as a first step for the design of strategies for its conservation, the reduction of carbon emissions and adaptation to the climate change.

This initiative showed the relevance of promoting projects aimed at the protection and conservation of mangroves in the country’s states, as well as establishing multi-stakeholder and multi-sector alliances to strengthen local climate action.

To learn more about the work process, we invite you to read the article “The mangroves of Angostura, Sinaloa and their role in climate action” and download the final report of this study.

 

Mangrove swamp of the Laguna Santa María System – La Reforma, Angostura, Sinaloa © CINAM / GIZ Mexico, 2022

Local action is key to moving towards sustainable and low-carbon models. This requires strengthening state capacities to respond to climate challenges and identifying local causes of emissions and vulnerabilities. This is achieved through collaborative work across sectors that promotes innovation and knowledge sharing.

As a result, the Mexican-German Climate Change Alliance, implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), works with Mexico’s national and state governments to support local actions that increase the ambition of climate change adaptation and mitigation goals in Mexico.

We invite you to learn more about the local actions carried out by the Mexican-German Climate Change Alliance:

 

To achieve global goals, the mobilisation of public and private resources is key. The participation of financial institutions, banks, institutional investors, corporations and capital markets play a crucial role in aligning financial flows with sustainable and green finance.

For this reason, it is essential to provide investors with information on activities that contribute to meeting climate change and natural resource conservation objectives. Green or sustainable taxonomies are designed as classification systems with criteria and indicators to classify different economic activities according to their contribution to climate change mitigation and adaptation, or to the sustainability of the country. In other words, it classifies funds according to their objectives, thus giving certainty to the market, avoiding green and social washing. Thus, the creation of green, sustainable or climate finance taxonomies helps in this process and becomes the foundation of a green financial system. The financial sector must consider environmental issues – in particular climate change – as inherent to its business and continuously conduct risk and opportunity analyses related to the environment and climate.

This guide seeks to draw on the experiences of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, through the Mexican-German Climate Change Alliance, in developing two processes for the creation of taxonomic classification systems for finance; one with the banking sector through the Association of Banks of Mexico (ABM), focused on green assets; and the other with the Government of Mexico, in the identification of economic activities and a methodology for defining metrics and thresholds for the country’s sustainable financing taxonomy. The objective is to share with other countries the lessons learned and best practices for implementing and operating a classification system for economic activities that contribute to sustainability and/or climate change within their country.

Consult the Guide for Creating a Green and Sustainable Finance Taxonomy: Lessons Learned from Mexico’s Government and Banking Sector, click on the following image:

 

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the transition to low-carbon and climate-resilient economies will need to include the private sector to help mobilise resources, knowledge and innovation. The private and financial sector have recognised the importance of their role in mitigating and adapting to climate change, as well as the importance of considering climate issues when managing investment risks.

However, companies still lack knowledge about the risks and benefits of addressing climate change for their business. Therefore, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, through the project Financing for Climate Action in Mexico (FINACC) and the Mexican-German Climate Change Alliance, participated in the first Training Workshop on Corporate Climate Action Initiatives and Instruments. The training was promoted by UK-PACT together with WRI Mexico, South Pole, WWF, the United Nations Global Compact and CDP.

The objective was to raise awareness and provide key information to companies in Mexico on the science of climate change and its implications for the private sector, as well as the opportunities to undertake decarbonisation plans for green growth and their business models.

On behalf of GIZ, Gabriela Niño, Climate Finance Advisor and FINACC project preparation officer, gave a training on the basics of physical and transition risks for a resilient and low-carbon economy in the country. During her presentation, she explained to Mexican business leaders the importance of considering physical and transition risks to climate change, which require a strategic response to address them.

Physical risks refer to damages and alterations caused by climate variability, such as heat waves, droughts, floods, storms, sea level rise, among others, which have negative impacts on companies’ supply chains and in turn affect the financial sector. On the other hand, transition risks refer to changes in policy, technological innovation and market paradigms, where, by prioritising sustainable activities that help decarbonise and build resilience in economies, activities causing climate change become stranded assets.

In Mexico, a country highly vulnerable to climate change (INECC, 2022), it is a high priority to address the risks and impacts that will produce losses for businesses, the financial sector and communities. Therefore, the work of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), which seeks to provide a framework for the transparency of climate-related financial risks so that companies can provide information to investors, lenders, insurers, etc., stands out. The TCFD provides recommendations to properly assess climate-related risks and opportunities and thus green the financial system.

During the presentation, two reports were shared with the companies:

Digital tools and databases such as GIZ’s Environmental Scenario Analysis (ESA) are key elements for promoting business sustainability, managing and mitigating risks, and supporting financial decision making. These fundamental tools help financial and non-financial companies with business decisions about physical and transition risks for a resilient and low-carbon Mexico, while at the same time allowing them to move towards appropriate information management processes linked to these risks, as well as financial disclosures under ASG criteria.

 

 

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:

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.

Diana Guzmán from SEMARNAT © GIZ México / Ana Karen Jiménez

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.

Álvaro Luna, Principal Advisor to the Mexican-German Climate Change Alliance at GIZ Mexico © GIZ Mexico / Ana Karen Jiménez

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!

  • Video: Transparency Agenda Information System:

The Congress of the State of Nayarit through the commissions of Industry, Commerce and Tourism; Ecology and Environmental Protection and Economic and Social Development; in coordination with the project “Ecosystem-based Adaptation to Climate Change in Cooperation with the Private Sector in Mexico” (ADAPTUR) of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, held the webinar “Blue Carbon, an opportunity for a climate resilient economy”. The congressmen and congresswomen and their respective legislative teams from the other states in the Gulf of California region were invited to attend. Part of the capacity- building activities for legislative teams of local congresses, more than 45 people from Nayarit and Sonora participated.

This initiative was led by deputies Juanita González, Georgina López and Nadia Bernal, who serve as chairpersons of the commissions. They are working together to position tourism as an axis that encourages the inclusion of transcendental issues for the region in their commissions and within the State Congress. Their work aims to create a sustainable and inclusive economic recovery for everyone, focusing on the environment; natural resources; climate change and Ecosystem Based Adaptation (EbA) measures.

The event aimed to increase the knowledge of participants on coastal-marine ecosystems; their vulnerability to climate change; their importance for the region’s biodiversity and the creation of solutions for climate action; and their relationship to economic activity within the Gulf of California region, which is essential for the tourism sector. This was done through a panel discussion between subject-matter experts that included Dr. Nélida Barajas from the Intercultural Centre for the Study of Deserts and Oceans; Mr. Luis Fueyo, a consultant specialising in oceans, biodiversity and environmental law; and the moderator, Mr. Alejandro Callejas, an international consultant specialising in biodiversity and climate change.

The meeting created linkages and multi-stakeholder dialogue between states, congresses, commissions, and legislators of the Gulf of California region, which supports work towards the enrichment of the subnational legal framework in the region. They succeeded in positioning blue carbon as an opportunity to implement EbA measures to strengthen climate action, protect the natural capital of the Gulf of California and strengthen the region’s economy by protecting the natural capital of one of the country’s major tourist attractions.

For more information, please contact Andrés Martínez, Technical Advisor of the ADAPTUR project for the Riviera Nayarit-Jalisco region.

 


Blue carbon webinar an opportunity for a climate resilient economy © Karla Ramos, GIZ ADAPTUR

The third edition of the Climate Change Action Groups (CCAGs) was a space for dialogue and exchange of experiences between public servants at the subnational level that allowed them to hear first-hand about experiences, successes and areas of opportunity in the implementation of projects on green infrastructure, circular economies, society and climate. This initiative has been created by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in collaboration with the Mexican Association of Municipal Planning Institutes (AMIMP), the Mexican Climate Community (CCM) and Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI).

 

Held from 4 to 7 July, the GACCs focused on a specific theme each day. In total, 596 people participated, and 25 sessions were held to share experiences about case studies and the implementation of best practices at the local level. For example, three keynote speeches by representatives from Germany discussed examples of important projects that address the impacts of climate change – from the experiences of various cities such as Freiburg in the circular economy; the Berlin Climate Change Action Plan 2022-2026; and the Hamburg Green Network.

Grupos de Acción de Cambio Climático 2022 © GIZ México, 2022

Below, find a summary of the four days of the GACC.

Green Infrastructure

The focus of the first day was on green infrastructure. Green infrastructure can be used, for example, to reduce runoff in times of rainfall by harnessing the retention and absorption capacities of vegetation and soil. In these cases, green infrastructure, in addition to meeting the needs of human societies, can increase carbon sequestration, improve air quality, mitigate the urban heat island effect and increase resilience in vulnerable populations, such as coastal cities.

One of the experiences highlighted was that of Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, in particular the process of developing its municipal green infrastructure standard and how coordination between different areas of the municipal government supports such initiatives. The Green Infrastructure Network promoted by GIZ Mexico through the CiClim and BIOCITIS projects was presented.

Keynote address “The Hamburg Green Network and citizen participation processes” given by Dr. Cornelia Peters from the Behörde für Umwelt, Klima, Energie und Agrarwirtschaft (BUKEA)

Circular Economy

On the second day, experiences were exchanged on circular economy instruments, sustainable consumption of electronic devices and inter-municipal solutions to reduce plastic pollution. They also discussed the implementation of energy efficiency and how it can reduce pressure on the environment, improving efficiency in the supply chain of raw materials and promoting economic growth and increased employment.

During the parallel sessions, state authorities expressed strong interest in generating a shared network of knowledge and information on recycling centres and events through the RAECO mobile application implemented by GIZ. Representatives from Chiapas, Chihuahua and the State of Mexico showed interest in including their own events in the application.

Presentación de RAECO en la sesión “Consumo sustentable de aparatos electrónicos” de los GACC

Society and Climate Change

The cornerstone of the third day was the role of society in climate change. They discussed how different sectors of society play a key role in climate governance because the willingness of business, government, academia and civil society can have a positive or negative impact on the fight against global temperature rise.

Ponencia Magistral “Plan de Cambio Climático en Berlin 2022 – 2026” impartida por Alejandro Fanegas, Berliner Energieagentur GmbH.

Digitalisation tools

Finally, the last day addressed the importance of digital tools in accelerating the transition towards a circular economy and the fulfilment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially as related to the ultimate goal of improving the quality of life in urban populations.

Keynote address “How does digitization help the sustainable development of cities?” Taught by Ileana Cerón from FabCity Yucatán

The creation of this type of space for the exchange of ideas and experiences allows for the construction of synergies between public and private sector actors at the local, national and international level to learn about progress, challenges and opportunities, as well as to create alliances in the fight against climate change.

Thus, for the third consecutive year, the GACCs have collaborated to strengthen and improve communication and the implementation of local projects that contribute significantly to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Check the summary of the event here

Press:

Presentations:

Day 1

10:00 – 11:00 Ponencia magistral Friburgo y la economía circular

11:00 – 12:30 Sesiones paralelas

Day 2

10:00 – 11:00 Ponencia magistral La Red Verde de Hamburgo y los procesos de participación ciudadana

11:00 – 12:30:

Day 3

10:00 – 11:00 Ponencia magistral Plan de Cambio Climático de Berlín 2022-2026

11:00 – 12:30:

Day 4

10:00-10:40 ¿Cómo la digitalización ayuda al desarrollo sustentable de las ciudades?

10:50-11:40 

10:50-12:40

  • Mi Mercado
  • Blaucorp: recolección y revalorización de residuos para ciudades

12:40-13:20

13:20-13:45 Presentación del Centro de Transformación Digital (DTC México)

Moving towards low-carbon and resilient economies requires building partnerships to mobilise green finance, achieve the goals set out in the Paris Agreement and limit the increase in global average temperature to below 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

Since 2019, the Mexican-German Climate Change Alliance, implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and part of the International Climate Protection Initiative (IKI), has been working hand in hand with the Government of Mexico and actors from the private, financial and social sectors to mobilise resources for concrete actions in the territory and identify the challenges and opportunities of climate finance. This long-term vision aims to allow Mexico to meet its national and international climate commitments.

In the framework of the third edition of the Green and Inclusive Finance Festival, the Mexican-German Climate Change Alliance presented the fruitful technical cooperation with the Government of Mexico to green the financial system and mobilise climate finance towards actions to address the climate crisis in the territory. The five axes of climate action were shared, in which they collaborate with various institutions from the public, financial, private and social sectors to promote green finance.

We invite you to learn more about the results of the Mexican-German Climate Change Alliance on green finance:

 

A few years ago, removing a retaining wall that blocked waves, and instead restoring the dune’s native vegetation as a measure to prevent coastal erosion, might have sounded unlikely. However, the Moon Palace Group in Quintana Roo has understood that nature itself is the best ally for reducing climate change vulnerability.

Coastal dune restoration / © Moon Palace

This ecosystem-based adaptation measure (EbA) began in 2019 with the technical support of the project Adaptation to Climate Change in the Tourism Sector (ADAPTUR) of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP Resilience).

To date, the commitment of the hotel group through the Environmental Management Department remains strong; despite the health and economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, they have made progress in:

  • The removal of 280 linear metres of retaining wall that separated the hotel area from the beach.
  • The transformation of 5,000 square meters of exotic grass gardens to their natural state: sagassum was removed and a sandy coastal dune was recovered, with native species of plants that provide stability to the coastline.
  • The reforestation of 1.8 kilometres of coastal dune with varied and stratified species.
  • Constant monitoring of the effectiveness of actions and technical exchange with experts.

The plants used are not only adapted to the climate and soil, but also keep the beach stable, where they are not present, erosion continues and reduces the areas for recreational use.

In March 2022, ADAPTUR coordinated a technical visit to Moon Palace facilities and an experience exchange session with another important hotel group, who have also initiated coastal dune restoration efforts in the Mexican Caribbean.

Technical visit to Moon Palace Resort and experiences exchange / © ADAPTUR

This case study is an inspiring example and demonstrates that the private sector can improve its operation in the market and at the same time achieve the climate resilience of a region.