V20 Senior Officials Convene ahead of Ministerial Meeting

ACCRA and New York, 13-14 March 2024 — V20 Senior Officials from the 68 climate-vulnerable countries of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) convened virtually  to take stock of the V20’s climate finance agenda in preparation for the Finance Ministers meeting during the Spring meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington D.C.

Together, the aim is to achieve Climate Prosperity through ambitious economic and financial resilience strategies designed to attract investment and resources that advance and accelerate the realization of Sustainable Development Goals, 30×30 Global Biodiversity, and the 1.5C safety threshold of the Paris Agreement.

The SOM also emphasized the importance of sticking to the 1.5°C temperature threshold to avoid a self-fulfilling prophecy with climate change. The temperature threshold serves as an “anchor” for the “boat” that keeps us from being adrift to the “deep waters” of climate change. By keeping our anchor, we can push for more resources to reverse the overshoot and better combat the climate crisis. Once we have accepted that the 1.5 degrees celsius threshold is impossible, we lose our anchor, ultimately setting us off into the storm.

Lastly, the V20 will share the second edition of the Debt Review in the lead up to the upcoming World Bank and International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings 2024. Further, key V20 events in the upcoming WB and IMF Spring Meetings 2024 are as follows:

16th April 2024

• Inaugural V20 Finance Ministers Governors Working Group Meeting
• High-Level Event on Addressing Polycrisis: Capital Mobilization for the V20 Climate Prosperity Agenda
• V20 Ministerial Dialogue XII

17th April 2024

• Philanthropy Roundtable Discussion

18th April 2024

• G7-V20 Global Shield Board Meeting

19th April 2024

• Working group meeting on carbon finance including launch of the partnership between V20 Finance Ministers and Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiatives (VCMI)
• V20 Climate Prosperity Fellowship Program High-Level Event: From the National to the International: Policymaking for Climate Prosperity and Global Financial Architecture Reform

The meeting concluded with a summary of the main deliberations and next steps from the Chair. The inclusive exchange with senior officials was done over two sessions to encourage participation of the broader membership across all regions. The senior officials will continue their engagement throughout the year on specific issues and especially in preparation for the ministerial dialogue.

END

About the V20 Group:

Ghana is the current Chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) and the Vulnerability Twenty (V20) Group of Finance Ministers. The V20 Group is a dedicated cooperation initiative of economies systematically vulnerable to climate change. The CVF-V20 comprises 68 countries, representing some 1.74 billion people and USD3.8 trillion in GDP. The Members of the V20 are:

Africa & Middle East

Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana (Chair), Guinea, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Palestine*, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Yemen.

*As a UN non-member observer state.

Asia-Pacific

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Fiji, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Viet Nam.

Latin America & Caribbean

Barbados, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Saint Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago.

CONTACTS:

For briefings and interview requests, please contact:

[email protected], www.v-20.org