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UN DESA | Development Policy and Analysis Divison
On 24 October 2016, the 2016 World Economic and Social Survey; “Climate Change Resilience: an opportunity for reducing inequalities” was launched in Mexico City for a regional audience in Latin America. The regional launch was conducted by Diana Alarcón, chief of the DSP unit of DPAD, together with María Amparo Martínez, Director of INECC (the Institute for the Environment and Climate Change) and Enrique Eliseo Minor, Director of CONEVAL (National Commission for Policy Evaluation). The press conference was broadcasted live from the facilities of UNIC Mexico and it can be watched online at www.cinu.mx.
WESS 2016 advances our understanding of the climate and development nexus, particularly as it relates to the challenges for implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It builds upon the recognition that climate change and inequalities are locked in a vicious cycle: climate change triggers hazards which put at greatest risk people affected by poverty and vulnerability—population groups already excluded from socioeconomic progress. In order to prevent climate change from exerting further devastating impacts, countries will have to close the development gaps that leave people and communities at risk.
The representatives from INECC and CONEVAL illustrated the inter-relations between the impact of climate change on the one hand and poverty and inequalities on the other, in the specific context of Mexico. Following the messages of the Survey CONEVAL mapped a series of indicators to confirm the fact that it is indeed the 319 poorest municipalities in Mexico that are at high and very high risk of being affected by climate hazards. The representative from INECC highlighted the importance of the theme in the Survey and timely publication; when national governments will start implementation of the Paris agreements on climate change. Bringing the discussion on climate resilience to the core of the development challenges faced by countries will help to further the agenda for sustainable development.
