Steps and achievements towards Climate Financing under EU4Climate presented at “Climate Budgeting” workshop in Armenia

On 30 August, the representatives of “EU4Climate” project, that is funded by the EU and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme, participated in “Climate Budgeting” workshop. It was organized by UNDP “Financing for the transformation of Armenia. Identifying sources of funding through the joint efforts of the “Armenia 2030″ program, the French Development Agency and the “Expertise France” organization.

The workshop brought together representatives from the RA Ministries of Environment, Finance, Economy, the Ministry of Economy of France, UNDP in Armenia,  as well as related field specialists and climate budgeting experts.

It aimed at presenting the actions implemented in Armenia in the field of climate financing and drawing parallels with the French model of “green budgeting” through exchange of practices.

In his welcoming speech, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative Mr. Konstantin Sokulskiy reiterated UNDP Armenia’s readiness to support in developing and practicing “green budgeting” system and making reforms in public finance management.

Mr. Artak Baghdasaryan, the Task Lead of “EU4Climate” Project, delivered a presentation on “NDCs Financing Strategy” developed in the frames of the Project. Mr. Baghdasaryan provided details on the institutional structure of climate financing in Armenia, the sources and mechanisms for attracting finances, as well as the framework of proposed investment programs and raising finances for their implementation.

Mr. Baghdasaryan also spoke about the existing gaps, obstacles and possible solutions and measures, including the usage of innovative financing mechanisms to advance climate financing.

Mr. Vahan Sirunyan, National Expert on public finance management, delivered a presentation on “Climate Change and SDG Tagging and Coding Approach in Armenia”, emphasizing the role of climate budget tagging, the harmonization of climate policy and budget, the existing and needed conditions in legal framework and in budgeting for realization of this process. Mr. Sirunyan also made a referance to the “Climate Public Expenditure and Institutional Review” (CPEIR), and the climate budget tagging model designed in the frames of this Review.

Sania Matulitz, the Deputy Head of the Fiscal Policy Section, Department of Budget of the Ministry of Economy of France, presented the methodology of “green budgeting”, its main objectives, advantages and the effectiveness of its application.

At the closing  discussion of the workshop, the presented materials were reviewed and the application of presented methodologies in Armenia were discussed by the stakeholders.