Dubai, 4th December 2023
Meeting at the UN Climate Change Conference COP28 in Dubai, Finance Ministers attended the Ministerial Meeting on "The role of Finance Ministers in mobilizing public and private climate finance" organized by the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action. The Ministerial Meeting was convened under the leadership of Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Minister of Finance of Indonesia and Sigrid Kaag, Minister of Finance of the Netherlands, Co-Chairs of the Coalition.
“Effective climate action, right decisions and prioritization rest on the shoulders of Ministers of Finance” said Sigrid Kaag, Co-Chair of the Coalition, in her opening remarks.
Opening remarks were further provided by Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Axel von Trotsenburg, Senior Managing Director of the World Bank, Ambassador Majid Al Suwaid, COP28 Director General, and Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary, UNFCCC.
The Ministerial Meeting took place as countries discuss the Global Stocktake which shows that the world faces substantial gaps in achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement. Responding to the challenges faced by Ministries of Finance, Lord Nicholas Stern and Vera Songwe of the London School of Economics Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, presented the Coalition’s flagship report "A Climate Finance Framework: Decisive action to deliver on the Paris Agreement". Key recommendations to Finance Ministries include prioritizing subsidies, focusing on carbon pricing and mobilizing private sector finance.
A panel discussion followed by Tatiana Rosito, Deputy Secretary for Sustainable Finance, Ministry of Finance, Brazil, Benjamin Diokno, Secretary of the Department of Finance, Ministry of Finance, Philippines, Charlotte Vere, Parliamentary Secretary, HM Treasury, United Kingdom.
Building on the publication of its first Climate Action Statement at the 10th Ministerial Meeting during the Annual Meetings in Marrakech, the Ministerial Meeting invited Finance Ministers to share the impact of the policies they are implementing to unlock investment opportunities and mobilize climate finance, as well as share best practices, lessons learned and experiences.
In response, Mihaly Varga, Minister of Finance, Hungary, Azucena Arbeleche, Minister of Economy and Finance, Uruguay, Achim Steiner, Administrator, UNDP, and Werner Hoyer, President, EIB, Wale Edun, Minister of Finance, Nigeria, Mohamed Maait, Minister of Finance, Egypt, Alexia Latortue, Assistant Secretary for International Trade and Development, US, Daniella Stoffel, State Secretary for International Finance, Switzerland, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, Minister of State Department of Finance, Ireland, Magnus Brunner, Minister of Finance, Austria, Jeppe Bruus, Minister of Taxation, Denmark, Francesca Utili, Director General for International Financial Relations, Italy, Thierry Watrin, Green Economy Advisor, Ministry of Finance, Rwanda made interventions highlighting the role of Finance Ministries in offering the scale, speed and effectiveness of climate action.
In her closing remarks, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Co-Chair of the Coalition, highlighted the task as well as opportunities ahead for Ministers of Finance to develop and implement ambitious climate action. Sri Mulyani Indrawati also announced the collaboration with the NDC Partnership to provide targeted resources and expertise for Ministries of Finance to actively engage in the development of NDCs and LT-LEDS.