Ahead of the Climate Summit 2025, we spoke with Enrique Estévez, Minister of Environment and Climate Change of Santa Fe, Argentina. He spoke about how the province is advancing its Provincial Climate Change Response Plan, the barriers it faces, and why subnational action is essential to global climate goals.
What are the main climate challenges your province is facing?
In Santa Fe, floods are becoming more frequent, threatening housing and infrastructure, while fires are damaging wetlands that are vital to our ecosystems. Agriculture and livestock, both very important to our economy, are under severe pressure from floods, heatwaves and droughts.
Health risks are rising as well. Access to safe drinking water is one of our greatest concerns. Dengue is spreading as our climate becomes more tropical, and heat waves are intensifying, affecting public health and disrupting daily life.
How is Santa Fe responding through its Climate Plan?
Our Provincial Climate Change Response Plan rests on two pillars: mitigation and adaptation.
On mitigation, Santa Fe represents 7.3% of Argentina’s national emissions. We have clear measures in place to reduce these by expanding renewables, increasing electric mobility and promoting sustainable agriculture.
On adaptation, our priority is reducing the vulnerability of both urban and rural populations to floods, droughts, and heat waves.
How does this connect to Argentina’s NDC?
Argentina signed the Paris Agreement in 2015, and we have a national law on adaptation and mitigation. In Santa Fe, we built on this with our own Climate Action Law, embedding clear objectives in our Provincial Plan.
This plan is not just technical. It’s a roadmap for a just transition that allows us to make decisions today while preparing for the future we want. And it shows that subnational governments are indispensable. Without the action of provinces and states, national commitments will not succeed.
What barriers stand in the way?
The biggest obstacle today is politics. Nationally, the step back from climate action is weakening public awareness and stripping away institutional and budgetary tools. This leaves provinces without the resources we need to act.
Without direct channels of finance, provinces are at a disadvantage even though we are the ones dealing with impacts on the ground.
Despite these challenges, Santa Fe is moving forward. We’re building resilience from the bottom up - working across our province with municipalities, universities, NGOs, and ministries across government to put our plan into action.
Are you seeing results?
Almost all the governance frameworks are now in place. We have a provincial climate cabinet chaired by our deputy governor and a focal points committee that brings all ministries together.
We have updated our greenhouse gas inventory, advanced solid waste management, passed a sustainable mobility law, launched a cross-ministerial dengue strategy, and introduced a Master Plan for water regions to improve watershed management.
These are tangible results that show how subnational governments can deliver - even when national politics and limited finance create obstacles.
