Tec de Monterrey participates in COP27 climate change conference

Tec de Monterrey is participating in the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) as part of its work to support the positioning of universities as catalysts for global climate action.

“At Tec de Monterrey, we understand the need to unite all sectors of society to take part in the climate agenda,” said Cynthia Villarreal, Director of Sustainable Development and Outreach at the Tec.

“As a university, we are committed to and co-responsible for climate action, the planet, and the people,” she said.

This is the twenty-seventh annual conference, which this year is being held in Sharm al Shaikh, Egypt, from November 6 to 18.

What is COP27 and why is it being held?

COP (Conference of the Parties) is the annual conference held by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat that brings together heads of state and diplomats, as well as activists who are fighting for environmental care.

Recently, a UN report revealed that the curve of greenhouse gas emissions is going down, but underlines that efforts remain insufficient to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.

“There is no credible route for reaching 1.5 °C. To reach two degrees, all countries would have to reduce their contributions by 80%. This requires rapid, far-reaching, and unprecedented action at all levels of society,” said Villareal.

That’s why this year’s main objective is to ensure the application of the Paris Agreement, an international treaty that promotes limiting global warming in the long term through actions to tackle climate change and greenhouse gas emissions.

The Glasgow Climate Pact was signed during last year’s COP, which supports the progressive reduction of coal-based energy, as well as commitments to transparency and climate finance to help developing countries.

This year’s objectives focused on the mitigation of emissions, adaptation and resistance to climate change, climate financing for developing countries, and collaboration to reach agreements with inclusive participation.

What will the Tec do at COP27?

For the second consecutive year, Tec de Monterrey is participating in the conference, where members of the institution’s sustainability staff exchanged observations and shared actions that are part of the 2025 Sustainability and Climate Change Plan.

This plan, also called Ruta Azul (Blue Route), proposes actions for the institution to mitigate the environmental crisis and promote education and culture around caring for the environment.

“This plan has six pillars, with Culture at the center because it’s the most important thing that we have to change. There is also Mitigation, reducing our ecological footprint, as well as Adaptation, Education, Research, and Outreach,” said Villarreal.

“As a university, we are committed to and co-responsible for climate action, the planet, and the people.” - Cynthia Villarreal

During its participation, the Tec aims to consolidate partnerships and connect with society’s stakeholders, spread scientific knowledge on climate change, rethink the future through the exchange of ideas, create new collaborative partnerships, show leadership, and give students a voice.

According to the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Ranking, the institution is currently number one in Mexico and Latin America for Climate Action, Commitment 13 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the UN 2030 agenda.

In addition to Villarreal, the Tec delegation includes Perla Martínez, Project Manager of Ruta Azul, the 2025 Sustainability and Climate Change Plan; Miguel Ruiz, Director of the SDG Initiative; and Luis Fernández, Coordinator of Sustainability.

Also participating are Pablo Necoechea, National Manager of Energy, Environment, and Sustainability; Misael Gradilla, a Sustainability and Climate Change research professor; and Valeria Soto, a Sustainable Development Engineering student.

Tec begins participation by promoting outreach

Cynthia Villarreal participated in the panel “Presentation of the State of Nuevo Leon and Monterrey Metropolitan Area Climate Action Programme,” and highlighted the importance of liaison between governments, universities, and other stakeholders of society with regard to climate action.

In the talk, organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Pavilion, she pointed out that the outreach pillar of Ruta Azul promotes a connection between the Tec and other stakeholders that could be governmental, non-governmental, private sector, universities, and/or other organizations.

“As part of outreach, we want to catalyze climate action, from our perspective, to be able to promote it through specialized knowledge, technical know-how, solutions, and technology,” Villarreal said.

“However, another way to catalyze is by connecting and providing safe spaces so that efforts and connections can be made between stakeholders who sometimes may not communicate with each other so easily for different reasons,” she added.

One example is coordinating with the mayors of 14 municipalities in the Monterrey metropolitan area to join the Race To Zero campaign from the Alliances for Climate Action (ACA) organization, to achieve carbon neutrality.

The Director also highlighted the work that has been done with the municipality of Monterrey so that the Climate Action Plan is a metropolitan plan, as well as other efforts in conjunction with the state government.

Also participating in the panel were the Governor of Nuevo León, Samuel García; the Mayor of Monterrey, Luis Donaldo Colosio; the Director of WWF Chile, Ricardo Bosshard; and Jorge Villarreal, member of Mexico’s Climate Initiative (ICM).

“There is still a lot to learn, but there is also a lot we can share, and I hope this inspires other stakeholders to do the work towards really achieving climate action,” concluded Villarreal.

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