ESF Seminar Series with Etienne Espagne (World Bank)

Title: The role of Ministries of Finance in the zero-carbon transition

Abstract: We introduce the Coalition for Capacity for Climate Action, a knowledge program to support Ministries of Finance in the redefinition of their role in the climate policy context. We present the challenges of the current international climate finance architecture, the implications for investors and policy-makers and Ministries of Finance in particular. Emerging and developing countries encounter specific financing constraints towards the transition, e.g. country risk, FX risk, technology risk, a reduced fiscal space, looming debt crisis, that create the need for specific types of tools and analytical support. We present the Financial Sector Mitigation and Adaptation Tool and how it can highlight the risks and opportunities of different financing strategies for a given country’s structural features. We illustrate in this context the potential role of MDBs, IFIs, IMF, climate debt instruments as well as other international initiatives related to the global financial architecture, such as the Bridgetown initiative, or the COP, G7 and G20 work on climate finance.