Mexico’s new federal administration (2018-2024) has expressed its intention to further strengthen its climate change framework by refining climate goals, updating its climate change policy and developing innovative green financial mechanisms to unlock green finance at the subnational level. Central to these objectives is strengthening subnational implementation of climate change goals. In addition, the new government created the Sustainable Finance Directorate within the Ministry of Finance (SHCP) to support the strengthening of a sustainable finance ecosystem and the development of sustainable finance instruments. GGGI is already working with this office as part of a GCF Readiness project recently approved (MX07) and has been asked by this office about how a municipal green bond could be structured. Furthermore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also expressed its interest in GGGI supporting subnational implementation and climate finance support at that level. 

GGGI will work mainly with the Ministry of Finance on an initial assessment on how the policy framework(s) are hampering and can potentially foster a green finance governance (backed at the Federal level). To do so, GGGI will conduct meetings with key stakeholders from the state and non-state sectors and develop a concept note on innovative financial instruments inherent to solve the multi-level government interaction issue. Such concept note will be then reviewed and edited based on feedback, and ultimately shared with both the Directorate for Sustainable Finance and other key positions (e.g. Directorate of the National Fund for Infrastructure, FONADIN).  

This project will develop a concept note on how municipal green bonds backed by sovereign debt could be structured, evaluated and issued. 

GGGI will develop a concept note to define the main aspects of the development of a municipal green bond issued by the Federal Government. This concept note will help to identify aspects that would need to be addressed for designing and operationalizing a green bond and to discuss other municipal-level green finance alternatives. 

Impact: Increased access to municipal climate finance results in municipal GHG mitigation, increased resilience and better access to sustainable services. 

Outcome: N/A 

Project Outputs completed in 2019: 

i. Green Growth Policies:N/A

ii. Green Investments:N/A

• Advisory outputs for inform investment proposals: A concept note developed to inform government on possible green resource mobilization for subnational entities which would have difficulties mobilizing resources own their own due to capacities, credit rating or borrowing limitations. The mechanism proposed seeks to overcome some difficulties through joint green finance mobilization by subnational governments. 
• Advisory outputs that aim to create enabling environment: The mechanism presented as part of the concept note developed seeks to reduce the financial risk of lending to subnational governments which would have either no access to finance or access to finance with unfavorable borrowing conditions.  

iii. Capacity Building and Knowledge Products: N/A 

Project Manager: Pablo Martinez 

Da Yeon Choi, Ferro Santetti, Jose Loustaunau