Date and Time: Thursday 15 June; 08.00 Washington / 13.00 London / 14:00 The Hague / 17.30 Delhi / 19.00 Jakarta

Ministries of Finance hold significant levers to accelerate the climate action needed to deliver on the goals of the Paris Agreement and drive the transition to sustainable, inclusive and resilient development and growth. Yet to date, the full power of the macroeconomic, fiscal and financial policy tools at their disposal remains untapped.

To help Ministries of Finance to mainstream climate action into their core functions and capabilities, the Coalition recently launched a flagship guide for Ministries and Ministers of Finance, ‘Strengthening the Role of Ministries of Finance in Driving Climate Action’. Based on over 140 inspiring country case studies of climate action, the guide offers concrete steps for Ministries of Finance to strengthen their role in driving the transition to a zero-carbon, climate-resilient economy. It shows that in taking bold climate action, Ministries of Finance can tackle escalating risks, achieve macro stability, enhance resilience, create growth and development opportunities, and deliver clean, secure and affordable energy.

Lord Nicholas Stern introduced the guide, setting the stage for a panel of Finance Ministers and high-level experts, including Janet Yellen (Secretary of the Treasury, United States) and Azucena Arbeleche (Minister of Economy and Finance, Uruguay), to showcase examples of climate action and initiatives designed to empower Ministries of Finance to take ambitious action.

The panel focused on how to translate the guide into concrete steps for spearheading climate action. This entails boosting awareness of the critical role of Ministries of Finance, strengthening capacity-building initiatives and knowledge and research networks to support policy design, and fostering ongoing participation by Ministries of Finance in global and national climate processes.

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The full guide and translations of the summary into Arabic, Bahasa (Indonesian), Chinese, French and Spanish were released during the event.

The guide is a product of a collaborative effort by more than 30 Ministries of Finance and 70 other partners and contributors. The work has been led by Finland and Rwanda. The Grantham Research Institute has acted as a key institutional partner supporting the work.