Tag: sector privado

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.

 

 

In our everyday lives we do our food shopping taking into account one important factor: the price. But does this price really reflect what practices were used to produce that food, or how many tons of greenhouse gases were emitted? The value of food goes far beyond purely economic aspects; there are many social and environmental implications that depend directly on production practices. Unaware practices can have several negative effects on nature such as the emission of greenhouse gases or soil and aquifer contamination with agrochemicals. However, good agricultural practices can have significant positive impacts on natural, social and economic capital.

The event “The True Value of Food” was organised within the IUCN World Conservation Congress by the project Integration of Biodiversity in Agriculture in Mexico (IKI-IBA), together with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and UN Environment. This virtual panel discussed those intangible aspects of food production that have an important impact and value, and are not often taken into account. Through an interactive game about the case of a brewery, the audience was invited to evaluate the environmental and social consequences of various decisions in order to raise awareness about their value.

The event was complemented with a panel discussion with actors from both the private and public sectors of Mexico and Brazil on the integration of biodiversity in agriculture. The dialogue was quite enriching since two different perceptions regarding the management of agriculture and their positive and innovative projects or experiences were presented. The need to take advantage of these differences to cooperate between the public and private sectors was emphasised, with each individual participating from their area of ​​expertise. This event demonstrated the importance of support between different sectors to achieve a greater environmental, social and economic impact through the improvement of agricultural practices.

More information in this link.