The Macroeconomics of Green and Resilient Transitions platform complements the Coalition’s main site, offering a practical gateway to policy-relevant tools and real-world examples.
Finance Ministers hold the keys to accelerating climate action. They know most clearly the risks posed by climate change, and recognize how taking action could unlock trillions in investments and create millions of jobs through 2030.
The Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action brings together fiscal and economic policymakers from over 90 countries in leading the global climate response and in securing a just transition towards low-carbon resilient development.
Helsinki Principle 2: Share Experiences & Expertise
Share our experience and expertise with each other in order to provide mutual encouragement and promote collective understanding of policies and practices for climate action
Mobilize private sources of climate finance by facilitating investments and the development of a financial sector which supports climate mitigation and adaptation
Finance ministries, through country platforms, have the potential to mobilize resources on a larger scale and operate projects that support development and climate goals, coordinating fragmented efforts into strategic, investment-ready initiatives that attract private capital, shape markets, and drive long-term impact.
Developing countries are racing to bridge a $4 trillion financing gap to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. According to the third report of theIndependent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance, global climate investment must reach roughly US$6.5 trillion a year by 2030 and US$8 trillion by 2035 to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C. Amid these challenges, an approach is gaining traction within the international community: country platforms. These nationally led, programmatic coordination mechanisms bring together domestic and international stakeholders, set market signals, and direct investments toward priority sectors and development goals. By coordinating efforts, these mechanisms can increase the overall volume of financing, engage the private sector, and develop pipelines for credible, bankable development and climate projects, rather than leaving investments scattered across fragmented initiatives.
While momentum is building, implementing country platforms is not without challenges. They can be costly, require strong domestic institutional capacity, and robust governance frameworks. They must also address political economic issues and longstanding investment barriers, such as regulatory uncertainty, low prioritization in public support mechanisms, and high perceived risk. At the heart of these efforts stands a key actor: finance ministries.
What Are Country Platforms?
Country platforms are coordination mechanisms that connect intra-government ministries with donors, financial partners, and other stakeholders, while aligning investments with national priorities. Unlike other multi-stakeholder coordination mechanisms, country platforms stand out for their clearly defined goals, policy components, and strong operational focus. They are designed to shape markets and mobilize resources toward targeted areas, with implementation outcomes that are pre-defined, country-owned, and transparent. All stakeholders coordinate according to their specific roles to deliver on these outcomes, while also sharing knowledge and building local capacity. This approach not only ensures accountability and alignment but also supports the sustainability of country-led efforts.
When effectively designed, country platforms provide clarity on how governments intend to achieve their development and climate objectives. They create favorable market conditions, help understand key priorities for public support, build stakeholder trust, enhance coordination, unlock blended finance, and promote project pipelines through strategic synergies with ongoing initiatives.
To be effective, country platforms require national ownership, strong political leadership, and robust institutional capacity. This is why the finance ministries can play a key role in their success.
Why Finance Ministries Matter
Finance ministries are uniquely positioned to support country platforms because they have at their disposal key tools to shape the investment environment: establishing market mechanisms, aligning fiscal and economic policies, designing evidence-based scenarios and decision-making supporting tools, and coordinating across government and with external stakeholders. This ability is fundamental to directing resources toward priority projects.
Here’s how finance ministries can drive impact through country platforms:
1. Bridging Policy and Investment
Country platforms require more than ambition; they need a clear vision of long-term development pathways, a solid foundation of enabling policies, a set of appropriate analytical tools, effective financial structuring, and a pipeline of credible, bankable projects. Finance ministries, with their strong connections to financial institutions, sectoral agencies, and regulatory bodies, are uniquely positioned to collaborate with development partners in turning SDGs and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) targets into actionable and investable opportunities. Leveraging the expertise and capabilities of partners, especially those with sector-specific knowledge, is essential to improve coordination, reduce costs, and deliver faster results.
An illustrative example of this is theBrazilian Climate and Ecological Transformation Investment Platform, launched in October 2024. It is led by a Steering Committee composed of four ministries (Finance, Environment and Climate Change, Mines and Energy, Development, Industry and Trade). The finance ministry plays a leading role and is responsible for advancing the Platform’s agenda within the government and defining its strategic direction. The Brazilian Economic and Social Development Bank (BNDES) serves as the Platform’s Secretariat, providing administrative and project management support and managing relations with financial institutions and the broader public.
Photo by Diogo Zacarias, Ministry of Ninace, Brazil
2. Aligning and Mobilizing Finance
Mobilizing the scale of finance required to meet the NDCs and Long-Term Strategies goals, particularly in emerging markets and developing economies, demands a programmatic and coordinated approach. Country platforms can be a valuable mechanism to align diverse funding sources with national needs, priorities and credible investment plans.
Finance ministries play a central role facilitating dialogue and establishing innovative financing channels with Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), national development institutions, donors, and private investors.
Their guidance helps ensure that financing is catalytic, aligned with development goals, and secured on better terms. Besides that, they can also help to address longstanding barriers to investment —such as regulatory uncertainty and currency risk—by fostering policy stability, transparency, and risk mitigation measures.
3. Sequencing and Prioritization
Not all sectors can transition at the same pace.The high skill requirements and costs involved in designing and implementing country platforms make it difficult for lower-capacity states to launch multiple platforms simultaneously.Rather than creating multiple sectoral platforms, a single, well-designed country platform allows for integrated planning and prioritization across sectors—an approach where finance ministries, with their analytical tools and cross-government perspective, can add value. Leveraging this expertise, they can advise on the sequencing of policies, assess regional and local impacts, and guide on project selection—based on a country’s circumstances, economic scenario, social and institutional readiness, and private sector risk appetite. This kind of strategic prioritization is essential to manage complexity, reduce perceived risks, and improve the chances of successful outcomes.
Rural Area, Monofiya Governorate, Egypt. Photo by Andrew Anwar, World Bank
Egypt’s Nexus of Water, Food, and Energy (NWFE)initiative exemplifies how clear, targeted, and sector-specific platforms, each supported by tailored institutional arrangements and policy reforms can foster investor confidence and drive progress within an integrated national vision. For example, the energy pillar was developed by enhancing the country’s NDCs through an increased renewable energy target. This created a comprehensive policy and investment roadmap that clearly defines sector boundaries and sets measurable targets. The roadmap also specified investment needs and funding types required to implement the country platform, thereby providing transparency and direction for stakeholders and investors alike.
Key Enablers and Challenges for Effective Country Platforms
The foundation of country platforms rests on strong political ownership and high-level leadership. Finance ministries can contribute to this process by establishing robust governance arrangements, fostering political commitment, creating a solid roadmap, and deploying economic instruments that promote coherence across policy domains. Their institutional leadership is essential to maintain momentum, build stakeholder trust, ensure stability while addressing critical political and economic trade-offs, and catalyze impact.
At the same time, these platforms depend heavily on national capabilities. Many countries will require targeted capacity building and additional resources to successfully implement and sustain their platforms.
Finance ministries are key in identifying gaps and coordinating efforts to address them, helping ensure the platform’s long-term resilience and effectiveness. Moreover, whether adopting this mechanism or another, it is essential to draw on past experiences and peer learning to anticipate and overcome challenges.
Conclusion
With less than one-fifth of SDG targets on track, the world is falling behind on its 2030 commitments. Finance ministries can be enablers of transformational change. Using country platforms or other deliver mechanisms, they can anchor strong political leadership and institutional capacity, turning fragmented efforts into strategic, well-sequenced investments aligned with national priorities. With their ability to connect policy with finance, and ambition with implementation, finance ministries are well positioned to shape the enabling environments that development and climate goals require to succeed.
As some countries rush to launch platforms ahead of COP30, finance ministries should recognize that these are not silver bullets. There is no one-size-fits-all approach, successful platforms must be country-owned, tailored to national contexts, inclusive of relevant stakeholders, and designed to complement, not duplicate, existing initiatives.
FINANCE MINISTRIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD MET IN COPENHAGEN TO TALK ABOUT THE GREEN TRANSITION
Finance ministries from over 45 countries, along with experts from international institutions, universities, think tanks, and philanthropic foundations around the world, gathered last week in Copenhagen to discuss the green transition.
How can we bring climate into the very core of global macroeconomic models?
And how can better analytical tools provide the world’s finance ministers with the necessary means to take leadership in the fight against climate change?
Check out the videos to find out the answers:
"Mainstreaming climate is about taking one step at a time to make sure that these questions are addressed in a way that means that action follows, that policy choices can be made," says Andy King, author of the Thematic Report: "How Finance Ministries Can Assess the Fiscal Challenges and Opportunities from Green and Resilient Transitions". Watch the video
In this report, you can discover available analytical tools and emerging good practices, focusing on the ways in which climate-related issues can affect public finances and how MoFs can assess the impacts using existing data, analytical tools, and approaches.
Read it here
"We live already with climate change, and the physical risks are already here - and they will get worse. Investing in resilience is a good fiscal policy. The next step is taking into account what we know and implementing it," says Prof. Swenja Surminski, encouraging people to read the report showing the existing tools for Ministries of Finance to be pragmatic about their decisions: see video here
Read the report here
A balanced policy mix — combining carbon pricing, targeted subsidies, and regulation — offers France a viable path to cutting emissions, protecting debt sustainability, and maintaining public support for the transition.
Global warming is already a reality for France: average temperatures in mainland France rose by 2.1°C during the 2014-2023 period compared to pre-industrial levels. As global temperatures continue to rise, the economic repercussions of climate change are becoming increasingly evident. France has recognized the urgent need to address these escalating challenges and launched an ecological planning strategy to lead the green transition. The French Treasury took a significant step in 2023 in this regard, creating a new unit dedicated to environmental policy analysis. This aims to strengthen the government's capacity to navigate the complexities of green policymaking.
The Directorate General of the Treasury (DGT) presented a new report on the economic challenges of France’s net zero transition. Inspired by the UK's landmark Net Zero Review and drawing from international comparisons and the economic literature, the report explores cross-cutting and sectoral dimensions of the transition to net zero. It outlines the key challenges facing businesses, the labor market, foreign trade, households and public finances, addressing the broad macroeconomic impacts as well as sector-specific implications.
The findings are clear: the road to carbon neutrality involves temporary challenges for economic growth, but they are manageable – and the cost of inaction is far greater. With the right approach, its impact on public finances can be contained.
Analytical tools to measure the impact of economic shocks and policy reforms
The report applies two analytical tools to assess the macroeconomic effects of the green transition. The Mesange Vert macroeconomic model, developed in-house, is used to analyze France’s green transition, whilethe Oxford Economics’ “Global Economic Model” is used to simulate different scenarios for the global energy transition. At the presentation, particular attention was given to the Mesange model, which highlighted two key economic transmission channels of decarbonization:
An increase in the relative cost of GHG emissions: the analysis shows that implementing climate policies leads to short-term costs, including a moderate and temporary decline in GDP. However, these effects can be mitigated through redistribution policies, such as recycling carbon revenues as transfers to households or a reduction in employers’ social contributions.
Additional investment in decarbonization boosts growth: green investments, particularly in energy and infrastructure, boost GDP, even though this positive impact could be limited by financing needs and by the loss of productivity linked to the additional cost of these investments compared to existing carbon-intensive technologies.
The impact of climate change and transition on public finances
The Treasury highlights three channels through which climate change affects public finances. These channels can directly impact government revenues and expenditures as well as have an indirect macroeconomic impact.
Fiscal impacts related to mitigation policies, including increased public investment and subsidies to support decarbonization efforts. This covers spending on low carbon energy, energy efficiency programs, reducing tax revenues from fuel and carbon tax revenue.
Fiscal impacts from the physical effects of climate change, such as damage to state-owned assets and the costs associated with compensation or cost-sharing mechanisms.
Fiscal impacts from adaptation policies, which include both reactive and preventive public spending aimed at increasing resilience to climate risks.
On the specific fiscal implications of mitigation policies, the analysis underscores that the chosen policy mix affects fiscal outcomes. Strategies reliant exclusively on subsidies increase public debt substantially, whereas purely carbon tax–driven approaches would help reduce debt but can face political resistance and lead to adverse redistributive outcomes. A well-balanced mix of carbon pricing, targeted subsidies, and regulatory measures can achieve emission reduction goals while maintaining debt sustainability and ensuring broader public acceptability. This balanced approach also enables the private sector to contribute meaningfully to financing the transition. The figure below illustrates these different results.
Impact of the net-zero transition on the debt-to-GDP ratio relatively to the counterfactual scenario, by policy scenario
A call for strategic, balanced action
The report conveys a clear message: with a data-driven and balanced policy approach, France can manage the decarbonization costs while minimizing short-term economic disruptions. The climate policy toolkit also includes subsidies for green innovation, regulations to address market failures, and international cooperation to prevent carbon leakage. Together, these efforts can mitigate productivity losses and improve health outcomes through co-benefits of the green transition.
In this endeavor, the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action is committed to supporting countries in pursuing resilient and low-carbon development pathways. Through different workstreams and by fostering peer-to-peer learning and knowledge exchange, the Coalition seeks to enhance governments' ability to integrate climate considerations into economic and fiscal policymaking. Read more about the priorities and Strategic Work Program 2025-2026 here.
Seville, 1 July 2025 – Global finance leaders made a united call for systemic resilience to become the cornerstone of sustainable growth, job creation, and competitiveness. This key declaration was made at the side-event, Prosperity Through Resilience: Transforming Public Finance for a Thriving Future, co-hosted by PAGE, the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action (CFMCA), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and the Green Fiscal Policy Network (GFPN), during the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development.
Hon. Matia Kasaija, Uganda’s Minister of Finance and CFMCA co-chair, emphasized that resilience must no longer be seen as a cost but as a profitable, long-term investment. He showcased Uganda’s impressive strides, highlighting several key initiatives:
A climate-resilient road bypass that successfully kept trade flowing and students in school, even during severe floods.
Climate-smart coffee production, which dramatically boosted yields by 75%, generating an additional $260 million in export earnings and creating over 56,000 jobs for young people.
Investments in digital connectivity that proved invaluable, preventing billions in losses during drought conditions by providing real-time market alerts.
“This is not charity,” Minister Kasaija said. “These are fiscal assets that pay for themselves and deliver higher growth, healthier ecosystems, stronger businesses, and better public revenues.”
On 11-13 June, the Global NDC Conference 2025 took place in Berlin, Germany, with several member countries and the Co-Chairs attending. Focusing on the third round of Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement, discussions centered around unleashing ambition, driving finance, and scaling solutions.
The Co-Chairs hosted a session on “From planning to implementation: Enabling adaptation finance through public-private collaboration” together with the NDC Partnership. Participants discussed investment planning and costing of adaptation priorities, country platforms, and institutional coordination for adaptation finance, and blended finance and private sector mobilization for adaptation. Inputs were provided by Hugo Mendes from the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change of Brazil, Jim Brands of Climate Fund Managers, Ada Osakwe of Agrolay Ventures, Amanda McKe,e and Romeo Bertolini of the NDC Partnership.
Over the past four years serving as Co-Chair of the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action, Indonesia has been both grateful and proud to carry out this role successfully. It has not only been a privilege, but also a profound responsibility, to inspire and encourage finance ministers around the world to raise their climate ambition and strengthen the global climate finance landscape.
Four years is not a short time, yet it is also not long enough to deliver transformative change. Indonesia has made every effort to dedicate its ideas and time to the Coalition members. Indonesia has worked tirelessly alongside Finland (2021–2023) and the Netherlands (2023–2025) to amplify the Coalition’s voice to the farthest corners of the world, emphasizing the critical role of finance ministers in the global climate agenda.
After the handover of the Co-Chair role from Chile to Indonesia, the Coalition's main goal was simple: to expand membership and deepen engagement with existing members. We have been delighted to witness the Coalition’s significant growth, from 65 members in 2021 to 98 members in 2025, especially the increasing participation from the Global South. The number of our institutional partners has also increased to 30, which shows growing collaboration between Ministries of Finance worldwide with the MDBs, multilateral agencies, think tanks, and like-minded communities. This growing membership reflects the world’s rising trust in the Coalition and strengthens the Coalition’s ability to draw on diverse expertise. It reflects Indonesia's highly trusted role in leading international forums such as the Coalition. It is a remarkable achievement because, in addressing climate change, collective effort is essential. The more members we have, the stronger our collective power becomes in achieving our shared goals.
As Co-Chair, Indonesia does not wish to dwell too much on the increasing number of members alone. Indonesia also strives to enhance engagement among members and improve the quality of the Coalition’s delivery to its members. Together with the Netherlands, Indonesia championed the Climate Action Statement (CAS) in 2023, which serves as the Coalition’s official statement to the world regarding its climate action commitment.
This is not merely a document but a statement that reflects real commitments and manifests the climate actions that have been, are being, and will be implemented by the members. The CAS serves as an enabler for collaboration among members and with institutional partners. Through the CAS, the Coalition continues to make progress toward becoming a highly visible forum and a strong convening platform in the field of climate finance.
During its term as Co-Chair, Indonesia has consistently championed the need for a just and affordable green transition. As the issue of climate change continues to evolve, the Coalition has expanded its scope by establishing three new workstreams: Green and Just Transition, Adaptation, and Nature, to better address the growing complexity and diversity of climate-related issues. This reflects the growing attention, needs, and areas of work among members—developments that are highly beneficial to the members themselves. To improve the Coalition’s governance, we have also launched the first co-chair strategy, which outlines the short-term and longer-term vision and mission of the Coalition to strategically position ourselves in the global community, alongside a plan for achieving these goals.
Indonesia has not only worked to strengthen the Coalition's internal dynamics but has also actively strived to enhance the Coalition’s visibility and contribution in other global forums, such as the G20. Together with the Netherlands, Indonesia has proactively represented the Coalition at G20 meetings. Indonesia continuously promotes the spirit that the Coalition should be present and contribute meaningfully to global discussions.
Proudly, one of the outputs from Helsinki Principle 4 on macroeconomic modeling has been utilized as a reference paper for the G20 Framework Working Group (FWG). This marks a significant achievement for HP4, co-led by Denmark and the United States. It is hoped that this success will inspire other workstreams to contribute actively to global platforms in support of strengthening the global climate, fiscal, and financial policies.
At the end of its co-chairmanship, Indonesia hosted the 2025 Annual Deputies and Partners Meeting in February, in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. This meeting brought together members and partners of the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action to foster global collaboration, set strategic priorities, and provide capacity-building on key thematic areas.
The event celebrated Indonesia’s transformative joint leadership, which significantly expanded the Coalition’s size and influence. Under Indonesia’s guidance, the Coalition experienced remarkable growth and is now preparing for a smooth leadership transition to Uganda, ensuring continued support and collaboration among member countries.
A Global Survey of Finance Ministries: The pressing policy questions Ministries of Finance face in driving green and resilient transitions and their use of analytical tools to address them. 59 members responded (almost a third of all MoFs), and 15 participated in semi-structured interviews- here
Global Compendium of Practice – Summary Report of Economic Analysis and Modeling Tools to Assist Ministries of Finance in Driving Green and Resilient Transitions. Summarizes 130 contributions from 70 institutions, capturing existing and frontier economic analysis in action. It includes 10 model types and more than 30 specific models in use - here
Thematic Report: How Finance Ministries Can Assess and Manage Physical Climate Risks and Adaptation. Available analytical tools and emerging good practices, drawing on over 60 case studies of examples for quantifying climate impacts on the economy and public finances - here
Thematic Report: How Finance Ministries Can Assess the Fiscal Challenges and Opportunities from Green and Resilient Transitions. Available analytical tools and emerging good practices, focusing on the ways in which climate-related issues can affect public finances and how MoFs can assess the impacts using existing data, analytical tools, and approaches - here
The Macroeconomics of Green and Resilient Transitions platform complements the Coalition’s main site, offering a practical gateway to policy-relevant tools and real-world examples.
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