From April 22 and 23, Sierra Leoneโs Deputy Minister of Finance 2, Hon. Bockarie Kalokoh attended the First Forum on Macroeconomics of Green Transitions hosted by the United States Department of Treasury, the Danish Finance Ministry, the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Change, and the Bezos Earth Fund at the Fairmont Hotel in Washington D.C.
The Bezos Earth Fund – the largest philanthropic commitment ever focused on climate change and nature protection is investing US$10 billion by 2030 to create a world where people prosper in harmony with nature.
The Forum brought together the Worldโs leading policymakers, economic modelers, and analysts from Finance Ministries, Development Banks, Universities, and Think Tanks for intense two-day interactive sessions.
The objective was to bridge the policy-analysis nexus and provide valuable insight towards Climate Change and the competence of Finance Ministries to address and act on the most pressing climate issues which the world is already experiencing daily.
Diving into the big policy challenges facing Ministries of Finance and how to work together to develop the practical analytical tools needed to address them, the Deputy Minister of Finance Hon. Bockarie Kalokoh was invited as leader and key contributor in this space.
Hon Kalokoh is in charge of Climate Finance and Innovative Financing at the Ministry of Finance in Sierra Leone.
The Forum is centered around understanding the needs Ministries of Finance have in terms of climate-related challenges they face and their analytical capabilities for assessing the effects of and impacts, and how to work together with other countries in coalition to strengthen capacity together. This session aimed at ensuring that participants get a clear sense of the issues at hand at the Ministry of Finance.
At the opening session, Hon. Kalokoh spoke alongside Andrew Steer, the President and CEO of Bezos Earth Fund, Alexia Latortue; the Assistant Secretary for International Trade and Development at the U.S. Department of the Treasury; Larss Haagen Pedersen, the Deputy Permanent Secretary of Economic Policy, Ministry of Finance in Denmark; and Andrew Burns, Global Lead Macroeconomic Modeling at the World Bank Group.
Hon. Kalokoh spoke about policymakers’ needs and the types of analyses and metrics currently used and most useful to garner greater political and technical leadership behind better understanding physical climate risk and driving investment and other measures in adaptation and resilience.
He further informed the audience that Sierra Leone currently uses several tools to analyse climate change and its impact on the country for informed decision-making on adaptation and resilience financing.
He also reiterated that the Climate Finance Unit (CFU) at the Ministry of Finance in Sierra Leone is supported by the World Bank and FCDO of the UK Government, and it is used for analysing and forecasting the impacts of climate change on the economy for informed decision-making.
He said that the first phase of training at the CFU and other Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) on how to use the model was completed in February 2024.
According to Hon. Kalokoh, the country’s Finance Ministry had been discussing with the World Bank for further training on the model.
Furthermore, Hon. Kalokoh spoke about integrating climate expenditure into Public Financial Management, incorporating climate expenditure into the PFM Acts so that more priorities can be laid on climate expenditures. There is an ongoing discussion with development partners, including the World Bank and the IMF for the development of climate finance policy which will be used as a baseline for all climate financing mechanisms in Sierra Leone. Hon. Kalokoh said it will be used as a roadmap for discussion with investors, and all forms of climate investments.
On the Establishment of a climate budget tagging framework, and a carbon market frame work, Sierra Leone is seeking technical assistance and support from development partners (World bank and IMF) for the establishment of the carbon market frame work.
Elsewhere, Hon. Kalokoh was also invited to a high-level panel discussion to give insight on what types of analysis and metrics Sierra Leone is currently using, and what would be most useful to garner greater political and technical leadership behind better understanding physical climate risk and driving investment and other measures in adaptation and resilience in Africa.
Hon. Kalokohโs contributions were focused around four main areas, including integrating climate risks into public budgeting and macro-fiscal projections,; evaluating adaptation strategies as part of the green transition; enhancing investment in adaptation measures; and addressing the protection gap through integrated disaster risk finance strategies.
The U.S. Department of Treasury; the Danish Ministry of Finance; and the Coalition of Finance Ministers – all nominated Hon. Kalokoh to be a steering committee member as part of the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action and Beyond for his foresight in promoting Africaโs vision in line with the Helsinki Principles for Climate action.
In another engagement, Hon. Bockarie Kolokoh made a courtesy call to the Embassy of Sierra Leone in Washington D.C. where he held discussions with the Deputy Chief of Mission, Sheku Mesali; Ms Rakie Macarthy, Head of Chancery of the Embassy; and other Embassy staff.
PEL Koroma – Embassy of Sierra Leone, Washington, D. C.
