Building transparency in subnational reporting
The Paris Agreement and its transparency mechanism underscore the need for countries to track progress in the implementation of actions set forth in their Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
One part of this implies linking the efforts made by subnational entities by properly accounting for their contribution to the NDC.
As such, several countries are currently seeking methodologies to assess the climate mitigation activities undertaken by subnational actors, to enhance transparency on mitigation results and to build trust and mutual confidence with local stakeholders.
Introducing GACMO
In Mexico, UNEP DTU Partnership’s flagship climate tool for mitigation assessment, the Greenhouse gas Abatement Cost Model (GACMO), has been applied in the States of Hidalgo and Oaxaca as an instrument to increase precision in calculations of current greenhouse gas emissions.
The model served to close gaps in the subnational data by assessing the impact of mitigation measures in the sectors of energy, forestry and waste.
These mitigation measures were prioritised by the States in their 2016-2022 State Action Programmes for Climate Change (PEACC in Spanish) and thereby represent the core of their mitigation activities.
Since an established methodology to estimate the impact of mitigation actions at a subnational level is still missing for Mexico, GACMO presents several advantages at implementation.
Raising the level of ambition
One clear advantage is that GACMO modelling enables the States to use a single tool, which includes not only the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, but also an initial estimation of costs avoided by introducing mitigation measures in the chosen sectors.
In addition to characterizing the impact of subnational actions through a solid methodology and with the support from a robust framework for measuring, reporting and verification of mitigation actions, Mexico expects to also increase its level of ambition in terms of emission reductions, reinforcing the actions undertaken at the national level.
For more information about GACMO and the project in Mexico:
