ESG and Compliance Senior Associate, Mexico

INTRODUCTION

Based in Seoul, The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) is an intergovernmental organization founded to support and promote a model of economic growth known as "green growth", which targets key aspects of economic performance such a poverty reduction, job creation, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability. GGGI works with countries around the world, building their capacity and working collaboratively on green growth policies that can impact the lives of millions. The organization partners with countries, multilateral institutions, government bodies, and private sector to help build economies that grow strongly and are more efficient and sustainable in the use of natural resources, less carbon intensive, and more resilient to climate change.

GGGI has a diverse portfolio of programs in developing countries around the world. These in-country programs, together with global products and services, focus on delivering results through an integrated approach of evidence-based green growth planning and implementation aligned to countries’ development priorities. The organization also focuses on knowledge development and management activities which build a strong theoretical and empirical basis for green growth, while providing concrete options and guidance for policymakers; as well as building the conditions for public and private green infrastructure investments. 

Mexico’s development priorities have evolved in the context of global and domestic changes, resulting in a significant push to transform the public life to achieve a greater benefit for all. This intent is ingrained in the National Development Plan 2019-2024, which serves as an umbrella for sectoral and institutional plans and a key tool for cooperation fostering inclusive development. The ultimate goal of its political, social and economic pillars is to bring the nation toward prosperity, security, sustainability; thus, green growth and a low-carbon society are key development objectives for the country.

Over the last decade, the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) has consolidated its role as a trusted advisor to Mexico’s federal and subnational governments, actively working shoulder-to-shoulder with key counterparts to establish a strong green growth foundation in the country. In 2014, the Mexican Senate ratified the Agreement for the Establishment of GGGI, which signals Mexico’s commitment to green growth and its recognition of the shared value of this development paradigm in cooperation with GGGI. In 2021, the Country Agreement between GGGI and Mexico was signed between the Mexican Foreign Affairs Secretariat and GGGI; hence, formally recognizing GGGI as one the country’s key partnering international  intergovernmental organizations.

From its inception in Mexico (2013), GGGI has supported the federal government to develop the National Climate Change Strategy and the Special Climate Change Program. From there, GGGI expanded its work to support the government with tools and analyses to manage air quality, improve public transport, reduce the use of private vehicles, and promote cleaner, more efficient mobility. GGGI has also partnered with the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) to develop workstreams at the subnational level. One such initiative (2013) was GGGI’s technical and advisory role for the Environmental Commission of the Megalopolis (CAMe), where GGGI supported efforts to improve the air quality of the region. In addition, GGGI worked alongside the State of Sonora to develop and adopt its Green Growth Strategy (SGGS) and governance mechanism, which has been instrumental for the development of green growth initiatives in the state in line with the priority areas of the GGS. In more recent years, GGGI has also partnered with Mexico’s Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to improve the climate finance architecture in the country and enhance Mexico’s access to climate finance through preparing local financing institutions to access funds from the GCF. The latter has opened the doors for GGGI to Mexico’s financial system, enabling to work with regulators and regulated entities for mobilizing green finance. Lastly, Mexico also hosts GGGI’s Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean.

The partnership between the GGGI and the GoM has produced several key results to date. The most relevant interventions of the Mexico Program are summarized around the thematic priorities mentioned below:

1. CLIMATE ACTION

Through the past 7 years, GGGI has provided technical assistance to federal and local governments in developing strategic climate outputs. Early in its inception in 2013, GGGI supported the National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change (INECC) through technical contributions for the development of the National Climate Change Strategy (2013) and the Special Climate Change Program (2014-2018). Both policy documents provide a long-term vision to combat climate change, as well as propose specific actions to be taken by the federal administration.

In 2015, GGGI partnered again with INECC to analyse the potential for the country to develop innovative low-carbon technologies. The Technological Innovation Needs Assessment (TINA) report assessed the mitigation and value creation potential of various climate technologies by analysing the value chains of present and future climate technologies and assessing the country’s competitive advantage and opportunity for market capture of value chain components. In 2016, GGGI partnered with SEMARNAT and the state of Sonora to develop the Sonora Green Growth Strategy (SGGS), the first of its kind in Latin America. The SGGS, which launched in 2017, proposes a set of activities around 4 objectives setting out a less carbon-intensive and resilient economic growth path. To accompany the SGGS, GGGI supported the development of governance mechanisms and capacity building with government, private sector and civil society stakeholders. The SGGS is a prime example of how GGGI can catalyse the green growth efforts of its partner governments by providing technical support and leveraging support from partner organizations.

Lastly, in 2020 and in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, GGGI launched a Post Covid-19 Recovery Report, which consolidates relevant emerging literature, utilizes GGGI’s Green Growth Index as framework of analysis, and delivers recommendations to foster a greener recovery with high long-term economic multipliers plus social and environmental cobenefits at the subnational level (states).

2. GREEN CITIES

The transport sector is the second largest GHG emitter in the country and key to achieving Mexico's NDCs. Poor air quality – aggravated by the poor quality of public transport and dependence on private vehicles – generates significant costs for human health and reduces urban competitiveness, so addressing these issues generates climate, environmental, economic and social benefits. Between 2013 and 2017, GGGI supported the Environmental Commission of the Megalopolis (CAMe) through several activities aimed at improving the air quality of the region. These included support for the development of an updated air quality index, proposals for the development of low-emission city zones, green license plates and region-wide air contingency plans. Two knowledge products derived from this workstreams are the Public Transport Concessions Report and the Health Externalities Calculator from Transport Emissions. While the former highlights successful public transportation concession models, plus compiles good practices developed by five Latin American and two European cities (to document and inform local decision-making processes on concession schemes), the latter provides a tool to estimate the health benefits that can be expected from decreased transport emissions at the city level. Additionally, this tool provides a cost-benefit analysis component which can be used by city planners to evaluate the costs of various rates of integration of transport technologies (such as electric buses) vs the health benefits accumulated during a set period.

Recently, bolstering Mexico’s transition towards electromobility as one of the solutions to reduce CO2emissions, in 2022, GGGI supported drafting the requirements of the international public bids of the electric buses that will be running in MetroBus lines 3 in Mexico City and Metrorey in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon.

As GGGI transitioned to assist governments in provincial/local levels, its involvement in providing recommendations around the provision of local solutions fostering sustainable services has increased. Examples of this are public transport policy recommendations for the states of Morelos (2016-17) and Sonora (2018), plus studies evaluating circular economy solutions for the city’s waste (with support from the Korean Knowledge Sharing Program, KSP; 2019-20

3. GREEN INVESTMENTS

As part of the Sonora Green Growth Strategy, GGGI fostered the development of local capacities within the State’s Financial Secretariat by developing of a subnational green bond framework, which is replicable across Mexico’s 32 states. GGGI also prepared the Municipal Pooled Finance Mechanism (2017-19) for Mexico’s Secretariat of Finance (SHCP). Both knowledge products were developed to lower entry barriers of a sector with traditionally little or no take-up subnationally (despite having better prospects than traditional borrowing).

Between 2019-21 GGGI has implemented the GCF Readiness Program, which supports the SHCP plus national development banks, NAFIN and BANOBRAS, to mobilize climate finance and enhance their institutional capacities to access GCF funds. Some key deliverables within this project are Mexico’s Country Programme; the No Objection Procedure; the generation of institutional capacities within NAFIN and BANOBRAS in gender, environmental and social risks management in support of their accreditation as Direct Access Entities (DAEs) before the GCF; plus supporting SHCP in launching the Green Finance Taskforce of the Inter-Ministerial Climate Change Commission and its efforts in support of the development of a Sustainable Taxonomy for Mexico.

In 2022, a Multiyear GCF Readiness Programme started its implementation to continue strengthening capacities of the Ministry of Finance of Public Credit (SHCP) -as focal point of GCF and other green funds - and candidate and accredited DAEs on sustainable finance to mobilize investments that advances Mexico’s climate and sustainable commitments.

More recently, with support from the UK Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions (UK PACT), GGGI has worked closely with the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV).  This project aims to support the efforts of Mexico’s financial regulator–the CNBV–on greening finance through the development of capacities and increase knowledge within the commission itself and with its regulated entities. The project has entailed developing knowledge products on the integration and disclosure   of environmental, social   and   governance (ESG) standards; developing recommendations   to integrate climate-related risks in financial products/services for specific vulnerable groups; and by providing capacity   building and skills   enhancement   for   CNBV   staff   and   members   of   the   Sustainable   Finance Committee. The project also included the development of a self-assessment tool for regulated entities (financial entities and market issuers) evaluate where they stand on ESG integration and     what actions they     need    to undertake to advance their efforts.

In addition, under UKPACT sponsorship, GGGI supported the development and socialization of Mexico’s Sustainable Taxonomy under SHCP’s lead. In addition, national development banks, such as FIRA and NADB, received technical assistance to development thematic investments (bonds) and enhances its environmental and social safeguards towards mobilizing greener financial products. One of the most remarkable achievements in this sense is the Sustainable Bond Framework of the State of Baja California.

To further assist the Government of Mexico, accomplish its development objectives, SDGs and NDC targets in the following years under this Country Planning Framework (CPF) 2021-2025, GGGI will continue to catalyze resource mobilization to bridge the significant climate finance gap. Simultaneously, GGGI will promote technical advisory in the following sectors: sustainable landscapes, transport, waste, climate resilient agriculture and marine and coastal resilience. Finally, GGGI will continue to foster resilient recovery initiatives at both the federal and subnational levels, with the aim to boost decent jobs and green growth engines throughout the country.

Between June and October 2020, GGGI conducted a consultation process among key Mexico stakeholders to draft a new Country Planning Framework for 2021-2025. The aim was to gather diverse visions around the country’s most pressing challenges, opportunities, plus prioritize sectoral approaches where GGGI is best positioned to make impactful contributions. The consultation process was two-fold: high-level dialogues with SHCP, SEMARNAT, the Secretariat for Foreign Affairs (SRE), plus a structured survey sent to a broader list of stakeholders from the Federal and subnational governments, academia, cooperation agencies, embassies, and the private sector. This exercise was instrumental to identify those programmatic solutions where GGGI is catalytic and has built track record already, plus identify emergent areas for support. This process allowed GGGI to elicit from the respondents which of GGGI’s Global Operative Priorities and Programmatic Solutions are more relevant to the country and where the office of GGGI in Mexico is better placed to provide catalytic support to federal and local stakeholders.

Child protection – GGGI is committed to child protection, irrespective of whether any specific area of work involves direct contact with children. GGGI’s Child Protection Policy is written in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.