On 13 April in Washington (see EUROPE 12236/17) the “Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action” was launched at the spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Twenty-six countries are now participating and have endorsed the six basic principles, known as the “Helsinki Principles”, aimed at helping to accelerate a fair transition to a low-carbon economy.
In a letter dated 23 April, the co-chairs, Finnish Minister Petteri Orpo and Chilean Minister Felipe Larraín Bascuñán, invited the other Finance Ministers to join the coalition.
“Finance Ministers have the unique ability to help countries and the world in the face of climate threats and we need all of you to come onboard”, they write.
11 EU Member States - Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom - are among the acceding countries, but also Chile, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Ecuador, Iceland, Kenya, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines, and Uganda. Since the official launch, Colombia, Fiji, Norway and Guatemala have joined the coalition.
The letter also details the concrete actions the coalition plans to take this year. In particular, it invites ministers to act as “regional champions” for one or more of the Helsinki principles and to host meetings or seminars on a specific topic.
Chile, for example, has already expressed its interest in assuming this role for principle No. 5, namely, “Mobilize private sources of climate finance by facilitating investments and the development of a financial sector which supports climate mitigation and adaptation”.
It also asks ministers to indicate which area of activity is most relevant to policy making in their respective countries or in which areas they could share their experiences.
In terms of timing, the sherpas are first invited to a meeting in Santiago de Chile, scheduled for June 4-5, to organise the coalition's work. They will then meet at the annual meetings of the World Bank and IMF in October to review progress.
The coalition also wants to contribute to the Climate Action Summit organised by UN Secretary General António Guterres on 23 September in New York, as well as to the COP25 meeting in Santiago de Chile in December. By then, the coalition hopes to be able to announce an 'Action Plan' to support the work of COP25.
The follow-up of the coalition's work should also be included as an information point on the agenda of the European Finance Ministers for the Ecofin Council in May. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)