Abstract
This article discusses some of the challenges that Mexico is facing on climate change issues. Mexico’s leadership on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Conference of the Parties 16 (COP16) celebrated in Cancun, Mexico on December 2010 was a real challenge. In spite of the low expectations of this climate summit, a multilateral agreement was signed by the Parties. The major outcomes of the Cancun Agreement are described here. Funding derived from this agreement is expected to flow (hopefully) soon to underdeveloped countries to support mitigation and adaptation strategies. However, even if Mexico receives international funding through the Cancun Agreement, there are some major challenges that need to be resolved: (1) to understand the causes and impacts of climate change at regional scale and in different sectors, (2) to be able to identify adequate and feasible adaptation and mitigation strategies to build a more resilient country, and (3) to the have the financial support and the political will to implement them at regional scale by order of social importance.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Allen MR, Ingram WJ (2002) Constraints on future changes in climate and the hydrologic cycle. Nature 419:224–232. doi:10.1038/nature01092
Arriaga-Ramirez S, Cavazos T (2010) Regional trends of daily precipitation indices in northwest Mexico and southwest United States. J Geophys Res 115:D14111. doi:10.1029/2009JD013248
AWGLCA (2010) Enhanced action on adaptation, Ad Hoc Working Group on long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention, Revision of FCCC/AWGLCA/2010/14, Chapter II
Chen C, Hare B, Hagemann M, Höhne N, Moltmann S, Schaeffer M (2011) Cancun climate talks—Keeping options open to close the gap, Climate action tracker, 10 Jan 2011. http://www.climateactiontracker.org
CICC (2010) México, Cuarta Comunicación Nacional ante la Convención Marco de las Naciones Unidas sobre el Cambio Climático, Consejo Intersecretarial de Cambio Climático, SEMARNAT, México, p 274
COP16 (2010a) Financial mechanisms of the convention: fourth review of the financial mechanism, Draft decision -/CP.16. UNFCCC, available online: 20101204_cop16_fm.pdf
COP16 (2010b) Review of the adaptation fund. Draft decision -/CMP.6. UNFCCC, available online: 20101204_cop16_cmp_review_afb.pdf
Doyle A and Wynn G (2010) Climate talks end with modest steps but no Kyoto deal, Reuters, Cancun, 11 Dec 2010
Hernández B, Gaxiola G (eds) (2007) Carbono en ecosistemas acuáticos en México. Instituto Nacional de Ecología, México, p 510
INE (2008) Evaluación regional de la vulnerabilidad actual y futura de la zona costera mexicana y los deltas más impactados ante el incremento del nivel del mar debido al calentamiento global y fenómenos hidrometeorológicos extremos. Vázquez BA (ed), Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, UNAM, Instituto Nacional de Ecología, p 330. http://www.ine.gob.mx
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2007) Climate change 2007, synthesis report, contribution of the working groups I, II, and III to the fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change, Pachauri RK and Reisinger A (eds), IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland
Keenlyside NS, Latif M, Jungclaus JH, Kornblueh L, Roeckner E (2008) Advancing decadal-scale climate prediction in the North Atlantic sector. Nature 453:84–88. doi:10.1038/nature06921 (1 May 2008)
Kharin VV, Zwiers FW (2005) Estimating extremes in transient climate change simulations. J Clim 18:1156–1173. doi:10.1175/JCLI3320.1
Kroodsma D (2010) Lord Stern: not a singing and dancing agreement, but progress, Huffington Post, 15 Dec 2010
Landerer FW, Jungclaus JH, Marotzke J (2007) Regional dynamic and steric sea level change in response to the IPCC-A1B scenario. J Phys Oceanogr 37(2):296–312
Milankovitch M (1920) Théorie Mathématique de phénomenès thermiques produits par la radiation solaire, Gauthiers-Volars, Paris
Ortiz M, González JI (2008) El nivel del mar como indicador del cambio climático global: historia, tendencias regionales y perspectivas en México. In: Martínez PF, Aguilar A (eds) Efectos del cambio climático en los recursos hídricos en México. IMTA, México, pp 59–72
Otero S (2010) La COP16 terminará sin nada: Lula da Silva, El Universal, 2 dic 2010, México. http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion/182207.html
Petit JR, Jouzel J, Raynaud D, Barkov NI, Barnola J-M, Basile I, Bender M, Chappellaz J, Davis M, Delaygue G, Delmotte M, Kotlyakov VM, Legrand M, Lipenkov VY, Lorius C, PÉpin L, Ritz C, Saltzman C, Stievenard M (1999) Climate and atmospheric history of the past 420,000 years from the Vostok ice core, Antarctica. Nature 399:429–436. doi:10.1038/20859
Raven J, Caldeira K, Elderfield H, Hoegh-Guldberg O, Liss P, Riebesell U, Shepherd J, Turley C, Watson A (2005) Ocean acidification due to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide. The Royal Society, London, p 68. http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk
Reuters (2010) U.N. urges more climate cuts to match Cancun pledges, Oslo, 20 Dec 2010. http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE6BJ30820101220
Ridgwell A, Schmidt DN (2010) Past constraints on the vulnerability of marine calcifers to massive carbón dioxide release. Nature Geos 3:196–200. doi:10.1038/ngeo755
Tejeda-Martínez A, Conde-Álvarez C, Valencia-Treviso LE (2008) Climate change scenarios of extreme temperature and atmospheric humidity. Atmosfera 21(4):357–372
Tejeda-Martínez A, Castillo NI, Garcia-Cueto RO (2010) Impactos urbanos: ondas de calor en tres ciudades de Mexico. En: México ante el Cambio Climatico: Evidencias, Impactos, Vulnerabilidad y Adaptacion, MJ Cardenas (ed), Greenpeace, Mexico, p 72
Tollefson J (2010) Last-minute climate deal saves climate talks. Nature 468:875–876. doi:10.1038/468875a, 13 Dec 2010
UN (1987) Our common future, Report of the world commission on environment and development, Annex to UN General Assembly document A/42/427, 11 Dec 1987
UN (1992) United nations framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC), FCCC/INFORMAL/84, Rio de Janeiro
Wallace JM, Hobbs PV (2006) Atmospheric science: an introductory survey, 2nd edn. Elsevier, Amsterdam, p 483
Acknowledgments
I appreciate very much the comments and suggestions of a reviewer, which help improve the manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Cavazos, T. (2012). Challenges of Mexico to Face Climate Change. In: Klapp, J., Cros, A., Velasco Fuentes, O., Stern, C., Rodriguez Meza, M. (eds) Experimental and Theoretical Advances in Fluid Dynamics. Environmental Science and Engineering(). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-17958-7_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-17958-7_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-17957-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-17958-7
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)