National Strategy on Climate Change (Executive Decree No. 1815 and Ministerial Accord No. 095)
Decree No. 1815 defines climate change adaptation and mitigation as government policy. It states that the Ministry of the Environment, Secretary of Climate Change is in charge of oversight of this policy and the issue more generally in government. Adaptation and mitigation of climate change policies are to be developed and published by the Ministry of Environment. The Decree further mandates elaboration of three implementing plans:
• The National Plan for the Creation and Strengthening of Institutional Conditions (established the position of Undersecretary of Climate Change in 2009);
• The Climate Change Mitigation Plan;
• The Climate Change Adaptation Plan.
The Decree resulted in adoption of the National Strategy on Climate Change 2012-2025 in July 2012.
The strategy is based on several guiding principles, including: Regional and international co-operation; Consistency with international principles; Priority to local implementation; Environmental integrity; Citizen participation; Protection of vulnerable groups and ecosystems; and Inter-generational responsibility.
The strategy further contains two main strategy directions (mitigation and adaptation) and 15 specific objectives for 2017 and 2025. The objectives for adaptation include:
• Implement measures to guarantee food security under climate change impacts
• Secure economic yields and infrastructure against climate change impacts
• Implement measures to protect human health under climate change impacts
• Improve water management to ensure water availability and its sustainable use
• Conserve natural resources and ecosystems to enhance their capacity to respond to climate change
• Assist vulnerable groups with adaptation to climate change
• Improve disaster management at the public and private levels
• Increase the capacity of human settlements to face climate change impacts
The objectives for mitigation include:
• Identify and integrate appropriate mitigation practices in agriculture and fisheries sectors
• Implement measures to protect, enhance and sustainably manage ecosystems with carbon sequestration capacity
• Strengthen measures promoting energy efficiency and savings, as well as transformation of country’s energy mix towards greater share of renewable energy sources
• Promote sustainable practices that help to reduce GHG emissions from services and industry production, over the lifetime of products
• Lead transformation of the economy towards more efficient energy and natural resources use and renewable resources use to reduce GHG emissions.
