Mexico was among the first nations to introduce climate legislation under the General Law on Climate Change in 2012. It submitted its first Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2016, which was updated in 2020 and 2022. Mexico’s NDC includes Nature-based Solutions and Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) as transversal adaptation solutions. However, stalled progress under recent administrations threatens long-term climate action. As the adaptation finance gap widens, a mixture of financial instruments is needed to finance EbA. This case study examines payments for ecosystem services as a potential long-term sustainable mechanism to finance EbA in Xalapa, Veracruz.