Mexico

Mexico's new government has announced a fundamental update of its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC): it is aiming for an absolute, annual target of 533 Mt Co2-eq total emissions for 2030, which corresponds to a 35% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The focus areas are electromobility, the circular economy, renewable energies (RE), decarbonisation of state-owned energy companies, nature-based solutions (NbS) and methane. The updated NDC (3.0) is to be presented at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, in November 2025. The previous NDC (2.0) was categorised as "critically inadequate" by the Climate Action Tracker, partly due to non-transparent calculation methods.

President Sheinbaum's team has also set a net-zero target by 2050 - the last G20 country to do so.

In the National Development Plan, an increase in the proportion of RE to 45% by 2030 was declared. However, this target has not yet been passed into law. For example, the government wants to greatly expand photovoltaic systems. In this context, 54% of the electricity is to come from the electricity monopoly CFE, with the private sector contributing a maximum of 46%.

An update of the adaptation component and a new component on damage and losses are also planned in NDC 3.0. The National Adaptation Plan (NAP) should reflect a better understanding of the country's vulnerability to the impacts of climate change.

In the negotiations within the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Mexico is a pioneer for an ambitious international biodiversity policy. Mexico's National Biodiversity Strategy and Biodiversity Action Plan (NBSAP) have existed since 2016; both documents were developed with the active participation of all government levels. The documents were also adapted to the resolutions of COP 15, which took place in Montreal in December 2022, with the support of the IKI (Global Biodiversity Framework, GBF).

The IKI has been active in Mexico since its inception. Its work in the country focuses on the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, adaptation to climate change and the conservation of biodiversity.

In the funding area of mitigation, IKI projects amongst other things support the development of the national Emission Trading System, the first ever in Latin America. The IKI will also become more involved in the energy sector again; one project, for example, aims to improve the integration of RE into electricity grids.

In the area of biodiversity, approaches are pursued to harmonise the conservation of nature with the sustainable utilisation of resources. In one project, for example, agricultural organisations train micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in biodiverse farming methods and access to finance.

In 2018, Mexico was one of the first countries with which the IKI implemented a Country Call. The country-specific project “Land Use Planning and Innovative Financing to Strengthen the Resilience of Mexico” moves the focus of the IKI portfolio in the country towards adaptation and biodiversity conservation, particularly in the agricultural sector. The kick-off for the main phase took place in July 2023.