The Secretariat of Sustainable Development (SDS) of Yucatán, México recently held a webinar, “Mitigation in Yucatán: Incidences and Contributions in the Climate Change Law,” in collaboration with the UK PACT México program and Environmental Policy and Legislation. The webinar highlighted climate mitigation actions being carried out in Yucatán, focusing on the transition to decarbonization and zero emissions and the impacts of these efforts on State Climate Change Law.
Daniel Chacón, Director of Climate Policy at México Climate Initiative, and Saúl Pereyra, Senior Climate Action Coordinator at the World Resources Institute, participated in the webinar. In addition, Sergio Aguilar, Director of Planning and Climate Change of the SDS, shared a presentation entitled “Mitigation actions towards the decarbonization of Yucatán.” He discussed decarbonizing the energy sector and the need to do the same for the transportation sector. He shared that doing so will reduce the use of fossil fuels and move towards using alternative energies through more efficient vehicles.
Mr. Aguilar emphasized that all climate actions being implemented by the State of Yucatán are reflected in the State Development Plan of the State and align with the Sustainable Development Goals. These Climate Action goals focus on strengthening resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related risks and natural disasters and address the need to incorporate climate change measures in national policies, strategies, and plans. Doing so will improve education, awareness, and institutional capacity regarding mitigation, adaptation, and reduction of the effects of the climate crisis.
Finally, Mr. Aguilar highlighted that one of the projects currently underway in Yucatán, which promotes forest conservation and sustainable production, is the implementation of actions within the REDD+ framework. The project promotes low-emission rural development for traditional beekeeping and Mayan milpa (crop rotation farming). In addition, it strengthens the case for payments of environmental services in conjunction with the National Forestry Commission, which adds value to activities committed to improving land management. The Government of Norway finances this work through the Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force and the United Nations Development Program.
The recording of the webinar is available on SDS social media and can be accessed with the following link: https://www.facebook.com/watch/live?v=165106362424756&ref=watch_permalink