Mexico Advances Climate Finance Dialog Ahead of NDC 3.0

The Minister of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), in collaboration with the Climate Finance Group for Latin America and the Caribbean (GFLAC), held the National Dialog on Climate Finance and NDC 3.0, bringing together more than 30 representatives from public institutions, development banks, the private sector, academia, international cooperation, and civil society.

The hybrid workshop aimed to identify viable financial mechanisms to mobilize and align public and private resources with the goals of Mexico’s third Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0), which the country will present at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, in November 2025.

José Luis Samaniego, Deputy Minister for Sustainable Development and Circular Economy, SEMARNAT, emphasized that the central goal of updating NDC 3.0 is to determine whether greenhouse gas emissions are being reduced. He added that each strategy or project should address a core problem or mission, focusing efforts to strengthen climate action and achieve measurable results. “Many of the topics we are discussing here are subordinate to the NDC, and what we should be communicating continuously, in a transparency exercise, is whether we are advancing or falling behind on the central goal: reducing greenhouse gas emissions or not,” he said.

Andrea Hurtado, Director General of Policies for Climate Action, SEMARNAT, highlighted the role of climate finance as a critical enabler to translate ambition into tangible outcomes. She noted that declining international cooperation funding due to geopolitical reasons makes it necessary to develop clear, innovative financial mechanisms to meet national targets.

Sandra Guzmán, CEO, GFLAC, emphasized the need to close gaps in Mexico’s national financial architecture to ensure resources reach priority sectors for mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage. “Much of the financing continues to flow toward mitigation, when today more than ever we need to focus on increasing funding for adaptation, considering Mexico is highly vulnerable,” she said, citing impacts on agriculture, water, and forests.

Luisa Montes, CEO, Ecovalores, noted that companies are increasingly aware of the challenges posed by climate change. “Regarding finance, this represents an opportunity, as companies incorporate climate action into their sustainability strategies and report it alongside financial statements to shareholders. This aligns investment with climate action,” she stated.

The event included a high-level panel and six thematic working groups covering public finance, economic and market instruments, bilateral and multilateral international cooperation, governance, and transparency and accountability. Participants discussed proposals to strengthen resource traceability, expand training for financial actors, align climate goals with business plans, and create public platforms to share information on available funds and their impact.

Key proposals from the workshop included a progressive green tax reform and budget labeling to channel resources toward climate measures; creation of national platforms with information on financing and access requirements; strengthening subnational and municipal capacities through cooperation mechanisms; integrating the Ministry of Finance into climate governance alongside SEMARNAT; and establishing transparency strategies with clear indicators and use of new technologies.

In the final plenary, participants highlighted the need for multistakeholder coordination mechanisms integrating public, private, financial, and academic sectors, as well as effective communication of clear targets and indicators after the publication of NDC 3.0. The outcomes of the workshop will inform Mexico’s climate finance strategy to support the implementation of NDC 3.0, with follow-up through coordination working groups and participation platforms to ensure that agreed measures translate into effective and measurable climate action.