C3A Annual Symposium
Navigating the mid-transition period What role for Ministries of Finance
On December 2-6, 2024, C3A organizes its 1st Annual Symposium, taking place at the World Bank's Conference Center in Paris. A major event that aims to convene leading voices in global climate policy and research to jointly think through the most pressing issues facing Ministries of Finance and the whole-of-government in the face of a potentially unstable mid-transition period.
Program Agenda
The First C3A Annual Symposium is a platform designed to bridge the gap between science and policy on climate and nature-related economic and financial policies. Multiple formats will be in place to foster exchange among participants, knowledge and experience sharing, showcase cutting-edge research, and expand technical capacities to advance and cope with the various risks and opportunities that climate change and the ecological transition entail.
The Symposium is structured in two complementary segments: a Technical & Policy Segment (December 2-4) and a Research & Leadership Segment (December 6).
Technical & Policy Segment (December 2-4), closed-door
To prepare the Research & Leadership Segment held on December 6, the Technical & Policy Segment will take place on December 2-4. This segment will be composed of several working sessions aimed at Finance Ministry officials and designed to build technical capacity on climate-related policy, modeling, and transition scenarios for country partners. A range of topics will be considered including fiscal policy and debt sustainability, transition and climate risks, nature and biodiversity, and green innovation and industrial policy.
Research & Leadership Segment (December 6), public
Following the Technical & Policy Segment on December 2-4, the Research & Leadership Segment will take place on December 6. This one-day event will foster high-level policy dialogue between senior policymakers from developed and developing countries and world-renowned climate scientists and economists. It will also provide a platform for researchers and practitioners to present cutting-edge scientific research and distill policy lessons through research working papers and policy briefs.
Context
The objective of a low-carbon and ecological transition is a complex and multidimensional transformation process that involves opportunities and risks. This transition takes place in an uncertain and challenging international macroeconomic context, which constrains the policy options available to countries as they also pursue energy security strategies, energy supply affordability and prudential management of their fiscal space.
Intensifying climate impacts tighten the transition trilemma between sustainability, affordability and security. However, rapid innovation and exponential growth in the deployment of green technology have significantly reduced costs in low-carbon sectors and increased their productivity and contribution to economic growth. Some technologies have reached, or may soon reach, tipping points where costs break parity with fossil sectors, although profit rates associated with green technologies remain lower. Additional trends may also help accelerate the transition, such as growing environmental demands from civil society organizations and other constituencies, and decarbonization as a potential source of geopolitical leverage.
We are thus entering a “mid-transition” period — a situation of rapid economic transformation in which both fossil and low-carbon systems coexist leading to economic, financial, political and geopolitical turmoil in combination with ongoing environmental crises. A systemic approach is key to designing policies that can help societies navigate through the mid-transition period. These include closing financing gaps without jeopardizing financial stability, advancing climate mitigation options while minimizing transition risks, adapting to physical risks and responding to climate damages and losses, and managing trade-offs within adaptation and transition efforts while maintaining fiscal and debt sustainability.
Public authorities in general and Ministries of Finance in particular have a key role to play in shaping and coordinating appropriate policy options to build economic resilience and manage the transition. Enhanced coordination at regional and global levels is also needed to ensure cross-border cooperation within supply-chains and diversification opportunities.
Objectives
The first edition of C3A’s annual symposium will bring together leading voices in global climate policy and climate research to discuss the most pressing issues facing ministries of finance and whole of governments in navigating the mid-transition period. The objectives of the C3A annual symposium are threefold:
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Exploring
Sharing and discussing frontier academic research on a cross-cutting topic chosen for its contemporary policy relevance, particularly for Ministries of Finance. A competitive call for research papers will be issued, and a series of keynote speakers will be invited to deliver thought pieces
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Mobilizing
Mobilizing and showcasing the global Knowledge Network of the C3A program, expanding its reach and visibility from Global South countries, specifically in the thematic and regional areas of intervention. This will be done through policy panels in addition to the research presentations.
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Promoting
Facilitating knowledge sharing and building up a library of resources for the key partner Ministries of Finance of the C3A program. Keynote lectures will showcase some of the leading messages of the symposium.
Call for contributions
To ensure the success of this 1st C3A Annual Symposium in December 2024, we need your support and contributions! This is why we would welcome submissions of both research papers and policy briefs on topics related to the role of Finance Ministries in navigating the mid-transition period.
This includes but is not limited to the following topics:
- Characterizing the mid-transition period and potential risks and vulnerabilities;
- Political economy of the mid-transition period;
- Policy mixes for the mid-transition period;
- International cooperation and governance systems in the mid-transition.
Detailed information about the topics in the document below.
Application process and support
Please email your full research paper and/or policy brief draft to c3a@worldbank.org, including your full name, professional title, and academic affiliation if relevant, by October 20th, 2024.
Accepted research papers and policy briefs will be announced on October 30th, 2024.
Application of researchers from Global South countries are strongly encouraged. Travel support for PhD students and post-doctoral researchers from Global South countries will notably be available.
Guidelines on research papers and policy briefs
Research papers: expected research papers encourage the exchange of policy relevant empirical, theoretical or modeling analysis on the above themes. They are designed to produce results with wide applicability across countries or sectors, either in terms of methodological approach, empirical validity or policy implications. Research papers are expected to provide reproducible results and thus detail all related technical aspects (30 to 50 pages).
Policy briefs: expected policy briefs should inform readers of a particular policy experience, suggest possible policy options, and make recommendations. Policy briefs are expected to be concise (5 to 10 pages) and not discuss tangential information. A convincing policy brief should build on sound analytics and empirics, communicate the urgency of the issue and focus on the benefits and advantages of following a certain policy option. Co-authoring between policymakers and academics is strongly recommended.
Proceedings
Key contributions of the C3A Symposium will be edited in a Symposium Proceedings to be published in the first semester 2025. Special issues may also be proposed ahead of the Symposium. In addition, a synthesizing policy brief will summarize the policy challenges and options discussed during the Symposium.