A Global Survey of Ministries of Finance: The pressing policy questions Ministries of Finance face in driving green and resilient transitions and their use of analytical tools to address them

Abstract:

This report is a central product of the Helsinki Principle 4 (HP4) workstream of the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action (CFMCA). It advances the overarching goal of integrating climate action into economic and fiscal policy. It is part of an initiative to enhance macroeconomic analysis and modeling tools for Ministries of Finance (MoFs) and equip them to assess the economic impacts of climate risks, mitigation efforts, and adaptation strategies. This report is based on a survey of 59 MoFs, with submissions received between May and October 2024 (26 from Ministries in advanced economies and 33 from emerging markets and developing economies). Recognizing the urgent need for these Ministries to access tools capable of addressing today’s critical climate policy challenges, it aims to provide insights that are tailored to diverse contexts and adaptable 
to the timescales in which decision-makers operate. As the first global survey of its kind, it offers a systematic exploration of the key climate policy issues facing MoFs and examines the extent to which they possess the necessary tools to tackle them. The survey is complemented and informed by in-depth interviews with 15 MoFs carried out between March and July 2024. A series of complementary reports and online resources are published alongside or are under development, including an online Compendium of Practice and Summary Report, which provide an overview of modeling and analytical tools available to MoFs, and several thematic reports focused on specific climate policy needs and associated tools. A separate report captures the overarching goals of the broader program. The results of this demand-led exercise will inform the wider initiative and other outputs that aim to provide support to the MoF ecosystem. This research complements other efforts, including a 2023 baseline survey for Latin America and the Caribbean published by the Inter-American Development Bank, which provides an overview of the state of fiscal policy for climate action.