LocationsKey Highlights from 2025 Climate Finance Meeting in Yogyakarta
Members of the CFMCA, representing over 30 Ministries of Finance and 15 implementing partners following the Day 1 Plenary Session
©️ UNDP Indonesia
A Strategic Gathering in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
UNDP Indonesia, through the Climate Finance Network (CFN) Project, supported the Coalition of Finance Ministries for Climate Action (CFMCA) Annual Deputies Meeting, held in Yogyakarta on 17-19 February 2025. The meeting marked an important moment in global climate finance collaboration. As Indonesia’s co-chairmanship nears its conclusion in April 2025, the meeting provides a platform to reflect on achievements, set strategic priorities, and ensure a seamless leadership transition to Uganda. Beyond governance discussions, the meeting also underscored the role of Implementing Partners (IPs) in fostering knowledge-sharing and capacity-building in key thematic areas. The event had nearly 100 participants from 33 Ministries of Finance—including from Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Fiji, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg, Malaysia, the Netherlands, and the Philippines, among other—as well as 15 IPs.
Funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (UK FCDO) Climate Action for a Resilient Asia (CARA) Programme, UNDP through the Climate Finance Network (CFN) Project played a critical role in delivering technical expertise and strengthening capacity-building efforts—particularly in the areas of climate finance mobilization, Climate Budget Tagging (CBT), and gender-responsive climate budgeting.
Reviewing Achievements and Strengthening Capacity
The first day of the meeting centered on Indonesia’s leadership and the Coalition’s 2024 Strategic Work Programme (SWP). Following opening remarks and context-setting by the Coalition Secretariat, a plenary discussion was held to assess progress, challenges, and emerging opportunities for the upcoming year—aligning them with the Coalition’s broader objectives.
A key highlight was a capacity building session on Climate Budget Tagging (CBT), led by UNDP’s CFN team delivered jointly with representatives from the Center of Climate Change Financing and Multilateral Policy, Fiscal Policy Agency, Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia. The session provided a step-by-step walkthrough on how to development and implement CBT and featured insights from the Ministry of Finance of Indonesia—sharing their nearly 10-decade experience, challenges, opportunities, and lessons learned on tagging climate-aligned budget expenditures. Representatives from the Ministry of Finance of Bangladesh also shred their experience in developing their own CBT.
UNDP Indonesia’s CFN Team leading the capacity building session on Climate Budget Tagging, delivered jointly with representatives from the Fiscal Policy Agency.
©️ UNDP Indonesia
With over 15 participants from Ministries of Finance across Cambodia, Eswatini, Hungary, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, Madagascar, the Netherlands, and Sierra Leone, as well as institutional partners such as the World Bank, the IMF, and ADB, the session was a major knowledge-sharing platform. Three key takeaways emerged from this session: first, Climate Budget Tagging is highly context-specific, with the process dependent on the implementing country’s climate needs and objectives. Second, there is no prescriptive step-by-step procedure to initiate the development of CBT; as CBT is embedded into a country’s own Public Financial Management (PFM), its initiation relies on what already exists within the PFM structure. Third, Indonesia remains one of the most successful examples of CBT implementation, with an established process that has led to annual issuances of climate-aligned Green Sukuk since 2018.
Setting the Future Agenda and Advancing Climate Finance Strategies
The second day focused on finalizing the 2025-2026 Strategic Work Programme (SWP) and setting future priorities. The morning began with a global finance landscape briefing, featuring insights from Brazil’s Ministry of Finance in preparation for COP 30, as well as perspectives from an Independent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance (IHLEG) representative.
This was followed by breakout discussions, where workstream groups formulated key deliverables and technical knowledge needs. Each group drafted an action plan, outlining milestones, policy priorities, and institutional support mechanisms for effective implementation over the next two years. These draft priorities were presented, feeding into the broader discussions led by the Coalition’s Co-Chairs.
Strengthening Regional Networks and Engagement
A significant theme of the meeting was the need for enhanced regional collaboration through peer learning. Regional engagement was identified as a crucial tool for improving knowledge-sharing, policy alignment, and climate finance strategies tailored to local contexts. Additionally, the meeting emphasized the necessity of integrating adaptation and development considerations into climate finance strategies.
Addressing Practical Climate Finance Solutions and Looking Ahead
Throughout the meeting, the urgency of translating climate finance commitments into actionable solutions took center stage. Moving beyond policy discussions, participants focused on tangible strategies to expand access to funding, strengthen fiscal resilience, and enhance data-driven financial decision-making for climate action. To support the Government of Indonesia in achieving this, UNDP is committed to advancing climate finance solutions, providing technical expertise and strategic guidance to integrate climate considerations into national budgets and economic planning.
As the Coalition advances towards 2030, the meeting reaffirmed a collective commitment to positioning Ministries of Finance as key drivers in sustainable development. The CFMCA Annual Deputies Meeting in Yogyakarta served as a catalyst for advancing climate finance solutions, fostering stronger regional collaboration, and ensuring that financial frameworks are not only responsive to climate challenges but also drive transformative impact. UNDP remains steadfast in its commitment to bridging the climate finance gap, accelerating implementation, and empowering governments to build resilient, low-carbon economies.
Written by: Garnadipa Gilang, National Project Coordinator for Climate Finance
Edited by: Nabilla Rahmani and Thomas Benmetan
