QUERETARO, MEXICO. On November 19-21, 2019, The Center for Climate Strategies (CCS), Winrock International and The Climate Group launched the first of seven regional long-term decarbonization pathways processes in Central and South America as part of a program to enable subnational jurisdictions worldwide to develop and implement the necessary actions to meet 2 degree Celsius climate stabilization goals, and to provide a template for others to follow (the Under 2 Climate Pathway Project).

The launch of the decarbonization pathways process in Queretaro, Mexico was conducted in partnership with the Secretary of Sustainable Development (SEDESU) and its Center for Ecology and Climate Change. It included a one-day Capacity Building Workshop on emissions baselines development, goal setting, and technical activities to support later stage selection of priority actions, assessments of greenhouse gas reduction potential, and creation of measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems. The workshop was followed by a full day Plenary Session with over 40 stakeholders from the public and private sectors to review and approve Queretaro greenhouse gas (GHG) baselines and proposed emission reduction goals to enable the next phase of screening and selection of priority mitigation actions. Following this successful launch, on November 29 results were shared with the Governor and the other State Secretaries during the official establishment of the State Commission on Climate Change that will be involved in planning and implementation of actions.

CCS provided a variety of support to the Under 2 Climate Pathway project launch in Queretaro, including project planning, assessment of GHG emissions baselines for all sectors from 2000 to 2050, lead technical instruction during the Capacity Building Workshop, and stakeholder facilitation for the Plenary Session. CCS, Winrock, and The Climate Group are actively preparing for the launch of the Climate Pathway Project in the other subnational jurisdictions including Sao Paulo, Brazil on December 13-15, and will be working jointly on additional phases of action in each jurisdiction throughout 2020.