Image credit: Chris Henry (via Unsplash.com)

As governments around the world strive to combat the burgeoning threat posed by climate change, policy makers are engaged in a groundbreaking effort to realign their national financial systems to support the objectives of sustainable development. Having long viewed their institutional objectives as either ancillary or irrelevant to climate policy, finance ministers increasingly recognize the financial system’s vital crosscutting role in promoting climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as sustainable development more broadly. To organize the different range of actors involved in the transition to sustainable finance around a common conception of their roles and responsibilities, national authorities have deployed sustainable finance roadmaps.

These roadmaps can help prioritize actions and coordinate activities among stakeholders, including policymakers, supervisors, regulators, associations, corporations, and other financial sector participants to accelerate the expansion of sustainable finance. These documents generally provide recommendations, i.e., suggested actions for various stakeholders to enhance sustainable finance within financial systems. Furthermore, these reports have served as important inputs to the development of actionable sustainable finance strategies, along with several other inputs and agreements, including those from international forums, networks, and organizations.

The Helsinki Principle 5 Workstream has produced a report assessing a sample of roadmaps from various countries to identify commonalities and differences across them. This research was led by the UN-convened Financial Centers for Sustainability (FC4S) network, in collaboration with the World Bank, under the direction of the Coalition. The roadmaps from 30 countries have been analyzed, including the experiences of the following Coalition Member countries: Canada, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Nigeria, Switzerland, Germany, and Ireland.

Download the report here.

--

The following criteria for developing an effective roadmap were identified in the report:

On Thursday, September 30, the Coalition hosted a workshop under Helsinki Principle 2 on Finance Ministries’ Mainstreaming Strategies and Research Practices in Climate Action.

The virtual seminar was the second in the series of workshops, and built on the outcome of the first seminar that was held in May 2021. This event focused on how Ministries of Finance have incorporated mainstreaming practices—plans, structures, research, training, etc.—as part of the governance and implementation of their climate strategies.

The event was divided into two parts. The first part featured presentations from Korea, Ireland, Finland, and Grantham Research Institute. Each presentation demonstrated a facet of climate action mainstreaming impact through economic transformation, research, and sustainability aspects.

The second part focused on the role of Institutional Partners in enabling research and evidence-based policy advice. Institutional Partners provided comments on the country presentations, and offered insights on their work on training courses and capacity building, and how the Coalition and its Members could benefit from these.

The HP2 workstream is finalizing a report on mainstreaming climate into economic policies and incorporate the learnings of this workshop. The workstream also continues building a training program for Ministries of Finance.

Image credit: Greg Kahn / Getty Images Climate Visuals Grant recipient

On October 7, 2021, the Helsinki Principle 5 workstream hosted a workshop on ‘The Role of Ministries of Finance in Driving Resilient Investment and Investment in Resilience’. This was the second workshop on resilience and adaptation organized by the HP5 workstream.

Worsening climate change is expected to increase the frequency and intensity of physical climate risks, with potentially strong repercussions for people, nature, and the economy. Thus, adaptation and resilience plans are needed to ensure continued sustainable development. If strategically designed, proactive actions can help to mitigate and manage climate risks, while also accelerating development and poverty reduction. Adaptation actions could bring multiple benefits by avoiding losses, increasing productivity, driving innovation, and ensuring additional social and environmental benefits. While the imperative for adaptation action is clear, money is not flowing to adaptation at the pace or scale needed.

This workshop provided an opportunity to discuss how Ministries of Finance (MoFs) can contribute to driving resilient investment and investment in resilience by creating the conditions for private sector finance mobilization. Jennifer De Nijs opened the workshop by sharing Luxembourg’s most recent experience of severe flood impacts and highlighted the necessity to step up adaptation action, including an increase of climate mitigation efforts. Next, Stéphane Hallegatte (Lead Economist, Climate Change Group, World Bank) presented ways that MoFs can drive the integration of adaptation and resilience considerations into all public and private investment through policymaking and regulation—drawing on some of the findings of his recently co-authored book, The Adaptation Principles – A Guide for Designing Strategies for Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience.

The next presentation was jointly given by Carlos Sanchez (Executive Director, Coalition for Climate Resilient Investment), Carter Brandon (Senior Fellow, World Resources Institute) and Courtnae Bailey (Research Graduate, Imperial College London), who presented how the Coalition for Climate Resilient Investment (CCRI) enables public and private actors to work together to drive investment in adaptation and resilience. They further presented CCRI’s investment prioritization tool—applied in a recent pilot in Jamaica—that could inform national strategies on adaptation. Mahbub Alam (Deputy Secretary, Economic Relations Division, Ministry of Finance, Bangladesh) presented the adaptation strategy of Bangladesh and its climate fiscal framework. Finally, Elena Višnar Malinovská (Head of Adaptation to Climate Change Unit within the Directorate General Climate Action of the European Commission) presented the European Union’s adaptation strategy as a whole-of-government approach to mobilize private finance that focuses on how to create an enabling environment to develop risk sharing instruments and to reduce negative externalities.

The presentations were followed by a short question and answer session, moderated by Nepomuk Dunz (Junior Professional Officer, World Bank). Masyita Crystallin (Coalition Co-Chair Sherpa, Indonesia) closed the workshop by acknowledging the importance of this topic for the Coalition and the potential for countries to share experiences and best practices. She emphasized 1) the relevance of the adaptation and resilience topic for Members of the Coalition; 2) the role of MoFs in creating an enabling environment for mobilizing private sector adaptation and resilient investment; and 3) the importance of knowledge sharing on platforms, tools, and best practices in supporting the build-up of expertise in Member countries, including through workshops like this one and enhanced training efforts. The HP5 workstream has agreed to deepen its work on adaptation and resilience and private finance mobilization in the 2022 work program.

Above: Parque Nacional Natural Farallones de Cali, Colombia. (Image credit: World Resources Institute. License CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

On September 23, 2021, the HP5 workstream hosted a Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) focused workshop on ‘Developing Subnational Green Bond Markets in Emerging Economies: Challenges and Solutions for Ministries of Finance.’ The workshop was organized by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). This is the first region-focused workshop the Coalition has organized and others will soon follow.

Across emerging and developed countries, subnational infrastructure presents a great opportunity for the creation of green investment pipelines at the municipal, provincial, and state levels – despite such potential, subnational entities still struggle to access finance from capital markets. While the identification of portfolios of green projects does not seem to be a barrier, inability to access capital markets is a key limitation to subnational entities’ infrastructure financing potential. The LAC region is no exception in this case, with only a few green bonds issued by cities and sub-national governments – by Mexico City and Argentinian provinces. These issuances were well received by investors, but the challenges to replicating this capital raising are substantial.

This workshop provided an opportunity to discuss these challenges in emerging economies and explore a range of potential solutions. Germán Romero (Climate Change Advisor, Ministry of Finance, Colombia) opened the workshop by sharing the Colombian experience and instruments and tools his Ministry has used to help develop capital markets for subnational governments. Next, Gianleo Frisari (Senior Climate Change Economist, IDB) presented on green finance possibilities for cities and provinces. His presented was followed by Axel Radics (Lead Fiscal and Municipal Management Specialist, IDB) who presented the key findings from a forthcoming IDB paper he co-authored, ‘Developing conditions for sub-national capital markets in Latin America: a comparative study.’ His co-author Christine Martell (Professor, University of Colorado, Denver) then presented on the US experience, where municipal green bonds are a proven source of financing for local governments – drawing on some of the findings in her recently published a book, Information Resolution and Subnational Capital Markets. Steven Rubinyi (Team Lead, City Creditworthiness Initiative, World Bank) gave the final presentation on the offerings and experience of the World Bank City Creditworthiness Initiative, including a case study on the South African approach to developing subnational capital markets.

Participants then engaged in a roundtable discussion moderated by Isabelle Braly (Senior Financial Specialist, IDB). Pekka Moren (Coalition Sherpa Co-Chair, Finland) closed the workshop by acknowledging the importance of this topic for the Coalition and the potential for countries to share experiences and best practices. He emphasized the importance of 1) ensuring creditworthiness of issuers; 2) the role of MoFs in developing green capital markets; 3) the role of IFIs and MDBs in supporting these efforts locally; and 4) the importance of the Coalition in supporting the build-up of expertise in Member countries, including through workshops like this one and enhanced training efforts. The HP5 workstream has agreed to include a note on this topic in its 2022 work program to offer Members a synthesis of how to approach sub-national capital market development for green projects.

The Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action met on the margins of the 2021 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund on April 6, 2021, under Co-Chair H.E. Matti Vanhanen, Minister of Finance of Finland, outgoing Co-Chair H.E. Rodrigo Cerda, Minister of Finance of Chile, and incoming Co-Chair H.E. Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Minister of Finance of Indonesia.

The Coalition issued a press release, available here.

The Minister-level meeting acknowledged the increasing global momentum for action on climate change in the context of the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic—many governments are implementing large-scale stimulus packages and using this moment to boost climate ambition. Perspectives were shared on transitioning to a low carbon and climate-resilient global economy, mitigating climate-related financial risks, and pursuing pathways towards decarbonization.

Speakers included United States Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen, China Minister of Finance Liu Kun, Japan State Minister of Finance Kenji Nakanishi, Republic of Korea Minister of Finance Hong Nam-Ki, Chair of the Network for Greening the Financial System Frank Elderson, Malaysian Central Bank Governor Nor Shamsiah Yunus, and representatives from the Institute of International Finance, the International Chamber of Commerce, and the Worldwide Fund for Nature.

The Coalition also welcomed eight new Members—Belgium, Burkina Faso, Japan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Rwanda, and the United States—and marked the formal transition of the Co-Chair role from Chile to Indonesia.

Please see the event page for Video Statements that were contributed to the meeting, as well as the Press Release in other languages.

In June 2021, the Task Force in Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) published two documents for consultation: Proposed Guidance on Climate-related Metrics, Targets, and Transition Plans and Measuring Portfolio Alignment: Technical Supplement, which were shared also with the Coalition. The authors of the latter report, Measuring Portfolio Alignment: Technical Supplement, who are members of the COP26 Private Finance Hub, presented their findings and recommendations to Coalition Members and Institutional Partners in a stakeholder dialogue on September 9, 2021. Members and Institutional Partners then had an opportunity to provide feedback and ask questions. The discussion built previous work of the Helsinki Principle 5 workstream, which over the last year has held two workshops on measuring portfolio alignment and published a Summary for Policymakers on Private Financial Sector Paris Alignment.

The aim of the Measuring Portfolio Alignment: Technical Supplement report is to bring more convergence and transparency to the assessment of portfolio alignment. The findings in this report are not TCFD recommendations, but a guide for best practice in developing forward-looking alignment tools and a description of what is needed to support the further development of these tools. The TCFD is publishing final guidance in October following feedback from consultations. Work on continuing to improve and mainstream portfolio alignment metrics will then be taken on by the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) working group. This working group will be responsible for future iterations of TCFD guidance on portfolio alignment metrics.

In the discussion portion of this event, the role of Ministries of Finance in bringing transparency to the financial sector's Paris alignment commitments was discussed. Participants underlined that Ministries of Finance can play an important role in ensuring better data standardization and provision, as well as in supporting the development of appropriate scenarios to assess company alignment with the Paris goals. Overall, the dialogue enhanced Member awareness and understanding on issues related to measuring portfolio alignment with the Paris Agreement.

Mrs. Annika Saarikko has been appointed as the new Minister of Finance of Finland, and as such will assume the role as Finnish Co-Chair. Minister Saarikko, formerly Finland's Minister of Science and Culture, affirms Finland’s commitment to act as Co-Chair for the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action.

On Tuesday, June 1, Minister Saarikko met with World Bank Group President David Malpass in Helsinki and discussed priorities in the fight against climate change.“The Coalition of Finance Ministers highly appreciates the support and input given by the World Bank acting as the Coalition Secretariat in cooperation with the IMF. I look forward to co-chairing the Coalition with the Minister of Finance of Indonesia, and highly honor our joint engagement,” said Minister Saarikko.

Outgoing Finance Minister Matti Vanhanen extends his thanks to his Co-Chair colleague Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Minister of Finance of Indonesia: “I would like to thank my colleague Sri Mulayni Indrawati for the Co-Chairmanship. I am impressed with the progress of the Coalition work and I see a productive future of the Coalition”.

On May 6, 2021, the Swedish Ministry of Finance in cooperation with the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action organized a virtual workshop on carbon pricing, emphasizing in particular the role that carbon taxation and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) proposed by the European Commission can play in the Green Recovery process following the COVID-19 Pandemic. This was the second workshop co-organized by the Swedish Ministry of Finance -- the first one occurred in October 2019 and focused on carbon taxation. Presentations and a summary note from the earlier workshop can be found here.

The workshop was divided into three parts. The first session discussed how to tax carbon to achieve the sustainable development goals and climate targets. It was agreed that a simple carbon tax, applied upstream (where there are less taxpayers to control), with a wide coverage that is non-sectoral, and a tax rate that is considered to be acceptable within the economic context of the country in question, was the most desirable approach to taxing carbon. Such a tax would be capable of raising revenues which are important to recover from the COVID-19 recessionary environment, and lead to a behavioral switch in fossil fuel consumption patterns.

The second session discussed revenue use under a green recovery scenario. It was noted in this session that the pathway to green growth requires consistency in policy administration. Green stimulus packages should ideally include green finance, green procurement, green export credits, and green taxes to steer consumption, and they should be broadly aligned with countries’ NDC commitments. The presenters agreed that the way in which the revenues deriving from a carbon tax are employed in society is extremely important in harnessing long-term popular support for the measure. Therefore, pricing policies should be very well crafted, administered in a transparent way, and follow ample public consultations in order to win popular support.

The third and last session of the day explored the carbon border adjustment mechanism, its use, alternative measures to the employment of a border adjustment, the specific case of the EU CBAM, as well as a novel approach under consideration in Canada. Two reports were discussed in this session. The links are found below