Mexico, leader in carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) in Latin America, is the seat of the first ministerial meeting for the implementation of regional climate action, with the participation of authorities from 22 countries, heading to the Conference of Parts (COP30) next November in Brazil.
The regional meeting, a pioneer in its kind, was inaugurated on Monday by the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, in an event closed to media, with the presence of more than 100 guests.
“In the National Palace, we celebrate the Ministerial Meeting of Latin America and the Caribbean to contribute to climate action; we share points of view to strengthen regional leadership towards COP30. Welcome to Mexico,” Sheinbaum shared in a brief message on his social networks.
The meeting, convened by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Mexico (Semarnat), seeks to promote a regional dialogue on issues such as the COP30 action agenda and the process of updating the nationwide contributions (NDC, in English), -compromisos established by each country to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
Mexico is a regional leader in CO2 emissions -the main GEI -, with 487 megatonos of carbon dioxide (MTCO2) issued in 2023 in the country, according to the most recent data of the World Bank compiled by the Global Economy platform.
It is followed by Brazil (480 Mtco2), Argentina (184 Mtco2), Colombia (101 Mtco2), Venezuela (85 Mtco2), Chile (84 Mtco2) and Peru (58 Mtco2).
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Prior to the inaugural event, the head of the Semarnat, Alicia Bárcena, recapitulated that an expectation of the COP30 is that the countries present their updates of the NDC, central instrument of the Paris Agreement, adopted in the COP21 of 2015.
“That is why it is so important to listen to where we are, what we have achieved, what are we going to present. There are some countries that have advanced more than others and we can learn among all,” he said.
According to the last update in 2022 of the NDC of Mexico, the goal by 2030 is to reduce GHG emissions between 35 % and 40 %, more ambitious percentages than those raised in 2020, between 22 % and 35 %.
While countries like Brazil seek to reduce emissions by 59 % and 67 % for 2035 compared to 2005, and Colombia raises a 51 % reduction compared to the 2030 trend scenario.
Bárcena also warned that at the “critical” and “generalized uncertainty”, the vulnerability of the region is “alarming”, because “74 % of the countries have experienced recurrent climatic phenomena.”
Although he pointed out that Latin America and the Caribbean only generates 11.3% of global emissions, warned that the “intensification” of these “has been enormous”, citing a 2024 study of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
He also pointed out that by 2050 there could be a loss of 12.6 % of regional GDP, according to ECLAC data, so he urged countries to focus on “adaptation” to climate change.
“That’s why we are here, because our region is vulnerable, because our region has to be prepared, because if we do not, the employment can decrease and we can lose around 42.8 million jobs,” he said.
For his part, the designated president of the COP30, André Corrêa do Lago, stressed that there are “a few years” to generate a true impact on the fight to limit the temperature of the planet to 1.5 ° C.
“We have to change for the circumstances and I believe that the climatic urgency forces us all to change and to accept that we already negotiate a lot, we already achieved several things, and from what we have already negotiated we can already do a lot,” he said.
Corrêa considered that the “great objective” of the region in the COP30 “is to demonstrate that there are already solutions” and that it is possible to “act much more” with what has already been negotiated in past years.
The regional meeting will continue on Tuesday, August 26, with a view to drawing a regional roadmap, heading to COP30 will be held from November 10 to 21 in Belém, Brazil.
With EFE information
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