Objective
Directing financial flows towards sustainable activities aligned with climate objectives
Description
Mexico's Sustainable Taxonomy (STT) is part of the development of sustainable finance governance instruments promoted internationally since the 2010s. Its development is based on Mexico's international commitments to climate change and sustainable development (UNFCCC, Paris Agreement, 2030 Agenda), as well as its participation in several international sustainable finance networks, including the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) and the G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG). The report emphasizes that these frameworks provided the normative and methodological references that guided the design of the taxonomy and facilitated its alignment with international standards. Published on March 16, 2023, Mexico's Sustainable Taxonomy (STT) is defined as a classification system for identifying activities, assets, and projects according to their degree of sustainability. It aims to direct public and private capital flows towards activities that generate environmental and social benefits, to increase transparency in financial markets, and to reduce the risks of greenwashing and social washing. TSM is also distinguished by the integration of social objectives, including gender equality, alongside environmental objectives (Ramos et al., 2024).
- Ramos, J., Stein, E., López, F., Sosa, A., & Espinosa, I. (2024). Sustainable Taxonomy of Mexico: Lecciones para la construction de herramientas de política pública (Nota técnica IDB-TN-2929). Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo.
- Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público. (2023). Sostenible Taxonomy of Mexico (1.ª ed.). Gobierno de México.
Country
Mexico
Ladder
National
Nature
Financial
In which law/program is this instrument included?
Regulatory and classification
Built using several international methodological references
The development of Mexico's Sustainable Finance Taxonomy represents a process of innovation through imitation, as it introduces, for the first time in the Mexican context, a classification system that integrates both environmental and social objectives into sustainable finance policy. This approach relies on the reinterpretation and adaptation of international frameworks, notably the European Union's taxonomy (developed between 2018 and 2020), the Chinese taxonomy of sustainable finance aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (2020), and Colombia's Green Taxonomy (2022), in order to adapt them to Mexico's priorities and institutional realities (SHCP, 2023).
Innovation, therefore, lies not in the transposition of existing models, but in their adaptation to the national context and the integration of additional dimensions, such as gender equality and sustainable urban development. In this respect, the Mexican taxonomy constitutes a case of linking environmental and social objectives within a single sustainable finance instrument.
Institutional organization and governance
The implementation of Mexico's Sustainable Taxonomy is coordinated by the Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público (SHCP), which provides overall leadership for the process. Institutional coordination is ensured by the Sustainable Finance Committee (CFS), composed notably of the SHCP, the Bank of Mexico (Banxico), the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV), the National Insurance and Surety Commission (CNSF), the National Retirement Savings System Commission (CONSAR), and the Institute for the Protection of Bank Savings (IPAB). The committee also includes the main associations of the Mexican financial system, notably the Mexican Banking Association (ABM), the Mexican Association of Insurance Institutions (AMIS), the Mexican Association of Pension Fund Administrators (AMAFORE), the Mexican Association of Stock Exchange Institutions (AMIB), the Mexican Association of Investment Advisors (AMAI), and the Mexican Council for Sustainable Finance (CMFS) (Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público [SHCP], 2023). The development of the taxonomy is entrusted to the Taxonomy Working Group (GTT), supported by sectoral and thematic technical working groups (GTSyT). These groups bring together environmental authorities, including SEMARNAT, INECC, CONAGUA, CONAFOR, and CONABIO, as well as representatives from the financial sector, academia, civil society, and international organizations to define and validate the technical criteria of the taxonomy (SHCP, 2023). Finally, the process benefited from methodological support from several international organizations, including the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), GIZ, the French Development Agency (AFD), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) (SHCP, 2023; Ramos et al., 2024).
Chronology of the instrument
The Directory of Researchers of the Instrument
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Karol Cortés
Postdoctoral Researcher, CIRAD | WP2, WP3 & WP4 | Comparative data analysis and fieldwork in Mexico
Library and Documents
