15th Ministerial Meeting of the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action
“Climate Action as an Engine of Growth, Jobs and Competitiveness”
At the Spring Meetings, the Co-Chairs of the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action issued a joint statement highlighting a central priority: climate action is a driver of economic opportunity.
In their joint statement, the Co-Chairs, Hon.Matia Kasaija, H.E. Eelco Heinen, and H.E. Tomislav Ćorić, underscored that the transition to low-carbon and climate-resilient economies represents both a defining global challenge and a significant opportunity for growth, investment, and job creation.
They further stressed that transition-related and resilience-enhancing opportunities arise from both the transformation toward clean energy and low-carbon technologies and from adaptation investments that strengthen resilience to climate impacts.
Together, these dynamics can create new sources of growth, jobs, and investment, while making economies more stable, secure, and less exposed to external shocks.
“The role of Ministers of Finance will be central, treating adaptation as macro critical economic policy, managing climate risks as financial risks, and mobilizing the full system to deliver resilience at scale.” Selwin Hart, Mr. Selwin Hart, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary General on Climate Action and Just Transition and Assistant Secretary General for the Climate Action Team.
“Our goal for COP31 is to narrow the gap between ambition and delivery, moving beyond pledges to real, measurable outcomes, with climate action serving as an engine of green growth, jobs, and competitiveness”. H.E. Mehmet Şimşek, Minister of Treasury and Finance of Türkiye.
Key takeaways:
• Climate change as a macro-critical risk to long-term global prosperity is underscored by geopolitical and energy market disruptions. Members noted the importance of a green transition for energy security as well as climate benefits.
o Countries such as Finland and the European Union stressed that a diversified, low carbon energy mix enhances resilience to external shocks, stabilizes prices, and strengthens economic security. Across regions, ministers converged on the view that accelerating the green transition is essential not only for climate outcomes, but for energy independence, macroeconomic stability, and long term prosperity.
• Finance Ministries recognize climate action as an economic opportunity, and Coalition member countries are moving decisively to capture it.
o Countries including Brazil, Mexico, and Nigeria emphasized that aligning climate policy with industrial strategy, fiscal policy, and capital allocation can unlock new economic opportunities across sectors, energy, agriculture, and manufacturing. Several members highlighted that finance ministries are moving beyond budgeting for climate to actively shaping markets and enabling investment, positioning climate action as a core pillar of economic transformation.
• Mobilization of private finance for climate, and addressing debt sustainability are urgent priorities.
o Countries like Mexico and Brazil shared concrete examples of mobilizing capital through sovereign instruments and blended finance platforms, while others stressed the importance of project preparation and clear policy signals to build investable pipelines. At the same time, many vulnerable countries emphasized that debt constraints and high cost of capital remain major barriers, calling for more concessional finance, risk sharing instruments, and systemic solutions to align climate ambition with fiscal sustainability.
The Ministerial Summary underscores that climate action must be treated as a core economic agenda, essential for driving growth, strengthening competitiveness, and building resilience. It emphasizes that climate risks are now macro-critical, with significant implications for GDP, fiscal stability, and debt sustainability, while also pointing to substantial economic opportunities from clean technologies and adaptation investments. The summary notes that countries are already advancing concrete reforms and investments, but scaling climate action will depend on mobilizing private finance, lowering the cost of capital for developing countries, and better integrating climate considerations into fiscal and macroeconomic policy frameworks, supported by the Coalition’s new 2026–2028 Strategic Work Program, endorsed during the meeting by the Finance Ministers. The new Strategic Work Program has five thematic priorities and a cross-cutting working group:
o Priority 1: Driving a coordinated whole-of-economy transformation and cross-government coordination
o Priority 2: Strengthening macro-fiscal policy and ensuring debt sustainability
o Priority 3: Accelerating decarbonization through fiscal instruments
o Priority 4: Mobilizing private finance for mitigation, transition, and adaptation
o Priority 5: Planning, managing, and financing adaptation, resilience, and nature
o Cross-cutting: Economic Analysis for Green and Resilient Transitions
The Co-Chairs’ Statement emphasizes that the transition to green and resilient economies is both an urgent necessity and a major economic opportunity, capable of driving growth, strengthening fiscal stability, enhancing energy security, and creating jobs. It underscores that climate change is now a macro critical risk affecting growth, public finances, and debt, while volatile energy markets reinforce the need for clean and diversified energy systems. At the same time, it highlights that falling costs of clean technologies and rising investment are creating strong transition opportunities, alongside high return investments in adaptation that build resilience and protect economies. The statement stresses that scaling these opportunities requires mobilizing private finance, lowering the cost of capital, and strengthening policy and fiscal frameworks, with finance ministries playing a central role, supported by international cooperation and the Coalition’s new Strategic Work Program to turn climate ambition into concrete economic outcomes.
The meeting was also an opportunity to announce the launch of the Coalition’s updated Flagship Guide, on October 2026 during the IMF/WB Annual Meetings in Bangkok. It will provide Ministries of Finance with a practical framework for acting on transition related and resilience economic opportunities using the levers they already hold.
• New content on three member-identified priorities: adaptation and resilience, nature and biodiversity, and industrial policy, trade, and competitiveness
• Updated evidence on why climate and nature action is sound economic policy for growth, fiscal space, and creditworthiness
• Stronger practical ‘how-to’ guidance reflecting capacity constraints and political economy realities, particularly in EMDEs
• A modular website with a searchable case study database drawing on concrete country experiences
The Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action had one clear and consistent message running through all its events: the shift toward low-carbon economies is not only about mitigating risks, but also about capitalizing on transition- and resilience-enhancing economic opportunities.
Many environmental benefits of mitigation accrue over the longer term, a dynamic sometimes described as a “tragedy of the horizon.” Yet while avoided climate damages materialize over decades, well-designed climate policies can drive a whole-of-economy transformation, unlocking tangible macroeconomic opportunities in the short and medium term, from investment and job creation to enhanced competitiveness and resilience.
This message was further explored across all Coalition events:
Building Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change in Sovereign Debt Profiles
• Built on discussions from the 2025 Annual Meetings
• Explored integrating climate risks, adaptation, and resilience into debt sustainability analysis
• Highlighted potential to expand fiscal space and improve access to lower-cost capital
• Uganda presented climate-sensitive macro-fiscal modeling
• Peer countries shared practical experiences to refine approaches
• Emphasized need for stronger evidence on economic and fiscal benefits of resilience investments
• Informed ongoing Coalition work on climate-informed debt sustainability, peer learning, and technical support
Fixing the Roof While the Sun Is Shining: Disaster Risk Financing for Climate Shocks
• Emphasized shift from reactive post-disaster spending to proactive, pre-arranged financing mechanisms
• Discussed balance between: risk retention tools (e.g., contingency reserves), risk transfer instruments (e.g., insurance, catastrophe bonds), and drew on country experiences across regions
• Recognized disaster risk financing as integral to medium-term fiscal frameworks
• Highlighted impact of climate shocks on economic activity and government revenues
• The event will inform a forthcoming Coalition policy note
With the right policies, climate action can support growth, resilience, jobs, competitiveness, and energy security.