Knowledge transfer: ETS Academy in Mexico City

In the Paris Climate Accords, countries have committed to National Determined Contributions (NDCs). Mexico has pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 22 percent below baseline in 2030. In order to achieve its GHG targets, Mexico decided to implement an Emissions Trading System (ETS) for the industrial and power sector as an effective market-based instrument for climate change mitigation actions. The Mexican Senate in April 2018 approved the reforms to the General Law on Climate Change (GLCC) that provide the legal framework to introduce an ETS. In October 2018 draft regulations for a pilot phase of the ETS, which started in 2020, were released with the objective to test the design of the system in practice.

To build capacity on ETS design and implementation in the Mexican context, the International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP), which is hosted by adelphi, together with GIZ prepared and implemented the Mexico ETS Academy in the form of a three day training course from 23 to 25 July 2019 in Mexico City. The objective of the training was to provide Mexican decision makers and key stakeholders at national and regional levels with a robust understanding of key concepts and design elements of ETS and the requirements for effective implementation of the instrument in the Mexican context, especially during the ETS pilot phase that started in January 2020. The training contributed to a clearer understanding of why an ETS is an effective instrument for climate mitigation in Mexico, the steps necessary to implement and evaluate the pilot ETS as well as the transition to a mandatory system. The training thus contributed to clarify the steps and actions necessary to develop, implement and/or improve the necessary infrastructure for effective ETS-related processes or systems, improve cross-departmental coordination on this issue, and facilitate future engagement with other stakeholders in Mexico.

ICAP together with GIZ was responsible for the conceptualisation and planning of the course, the preparation of capacity building materials and interactive modules as well as the implementation and delivery of the Academy in Mexico City.