About the Coalition

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.

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The Helsinki Principles

The six Helsinki Principles guide the Coalition's commitment to #ClimateAction

Helsinki Principle 1: Align Policies with the Paris Agreement

Align our policies and practices with the Paris Agreement commitments
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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
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Helsinki Principle 3: Promote Carbon Pricing Measures

Work towards measures that result in effective carbon pricing
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Helsinki Principle 4: Mainstream Climate in Economic Policies

Take climate change into account in macroeconomic policy, fiscal planning, budgeting, public investment management, and procurement practices
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Helsinki Principle 5: Mobilize Climate Finance

Mobilize private sources of climate finance by facilitating investments and the development of a financial sector which supports climate mitigation and adaptation
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Helsinki Principle 6: Engage in NDC Development

Engage actively in the domestic preparation and implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted under the Paris Agreement
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Workstream: Adaptation

Adapting to the risks of climate change to moderate potential damages or to benefit from opportunities
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Workstream: Green and Just Transition

Combining environmental sustainability with social justice must be considered in any effort to build a more sustainable future for everyone
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Workstream: Nature

Prioritizing nature-based solutions in budgeting decisions is imperative for the Ministries of Finance to mitigate environmental impact
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95

Member countries

43%

of global GHG emissions

69%

of Global GDP

Member Countries

 

Events

View recent and upcoming Coalition events, including workshops, webinars and meetings

Bundesministerium für Finanzen: Forum Finanz - Presenting the Guide

September 28, 2023
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The Coalition was proud to present the flagship guide at the Austrian Ministry of Finance on Monday the 18th of September 2023, as part of their Forum Finanz event series.  We learned that the Austrian Ministry of Finance, alongside other departments, has coordinated and taken a number of important actions to mainstream climate change into their operations. These actions include:

  • Austria has targeted net zero by 2040, one decade before the rest of the EU.
  • No new coal investments.
  • 100% renewable energy by 2030.
  • Further implementing the pricing of CO2 emissions within the framework of the national ETS, conducted in gradual manner, whilst preparing for the implementation of EU ETS 2, an ongoing process of interdepartmental cooperation will be intensified.
  • Expanding the green Budget screening methodology to the regional and sub- national levels through spending review and integrating greenhouse gas estimates in the green budgeting framework.
  • Eco-Social Tax Reform 2022- aims at strengthening social inclusion and combating climate change, thus contributing to expected annual greenhouse gas emission savings of 2.6 million tons by 2030 compared to the baseline-scenario. To reach such objectives, the reform introduces a national CO2 price on fossil energy sources(starting at € 30 in 2022 and to be gradually lifted to € 55 in 2025, followed by market-based price formation from 2026 onwards), and a tax relief worth of € 18 billion by 2025 for people and businesses, comprising i.a. lower personal and corporate income tax rates, a higher “Family Bonus Plus” and relief measures for low-income households. A “Regional Climate Bonus” serves to mitigate the impact of carbon pricing on individuals.
  • Financial sector reform – by expanding “Green Financial literacy”, strengthening of green project financing, issuing of green bonds and securities and measurement and monitoring of climate-friendly financial flows.
  • Implementing recovery and resilience plan, which includes a spending reviews analysis of the subsidies and incentives with climate and energy policy.

Director General Harald Waiglein, Directorate of Economic Policy and Financial Markets at the Austrian Ministry of Finance opened the proceedings, before handing over to Coalition-Sherpa for Austria, Elisabeth Vitzthum to chair the event.

Pekka Morén, special representative for the Ministry of Finance of Finland and country champion of the Coalition’s Helsinki Principle 2 workstream, then introduced the flagship guide. Technical experts and lead Institutional Partner in producing the flagship guide, Nick Godfrey and Anika Heckwolf from the LSE Grantham Institute, gave a technical presentation of the framework offered in the guide, before Pekka Morén linked the guide to the next steps of capacity building by the Coalition (slides of the presentation are available here).

A panel discussion then followed. Director General Harald Waiglein, Anika Heckwolf, and Pekka Morén, were joined by Fabio Rumler, Head of the Department of International Economics at Oesterreichische Nationalbank and Frank van Lerven, Coordinator at the Coalition’s Secretariat and lead of C3As debt sustainability hub.