Finland’s Minister of Finance Vanhanen to chair Coalition for Climate Action meeting, with United States, China and Japan participating

Finance ministers from more than 60 countries will gather today, Tuesday 6 April, from 16.30 to 18.30, for a meeting of the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action to discuss climate and economic policies.

The spring meeting of the Coalition will be co-chaired by Finland’s Minister of Finance Matti Vanhanen and his counterparts Rodrigo Cerda from Chile and Sri Mulyani Indrawati from Indonesia. This meeting will mark the end of the Chilean co-presidency, as the country will be succeeded by Indonesia. Finland will continue as Chair.

Finance ministers from more than 60 countries will take part in the meeting. The United States, Japan, China, India and South Korea have been invited to participate. The Coalition meeting brings together the world’s two largest emitters of greenhouse gases: the United States and China. The meeting invitees include US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen and China’s Minister of Finance Liu Kun. 

In a dialogue with stakeholders, the finance ministers will discuss climate and economic policy priorities and the work of the Coalition. The topics for discussion include:

• post-pandemic economic recovery, economic growth and the transition to a carbon neutral economy
• the role of finance ministers and central banks in managing climate risks
• promotion of a carbon neutral economy (discussion with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the Institute of International Finance, and the International Chamber of Commerce).

Bringing climate into economic policy

The Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action aims to bring climate change into the planning of economic policy and financing solutions in accordance with what are known as the Helsinki Principles. The Coalition was launched in Washington DC in April 2019 on Finland’s initiative.

The Coalition meeting will be held virtually in connection with the Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, which are scheduled for 5–11 April.

Inquiries:
Pekka Morén, Senior Ministerial Adviser, tel. +358 295 530 290, pekka.moren(at)vm.fi
Riikka Pakarinen, Special Adviser to the Minister, tel. +358 40 580 0833, riikka.pakarinen(at)vm.fi