BIS announces Green Swan 2022 conference

May 4, 2022|Written by Graham Caswell|Network for Greening the Financial System, Bank of International Settlements, European Central Bank, Federal Reserve, People's Bank of China

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has announced the second annual Green Swan conference. The event will bring together high level central bankers, financial regulators and experts from industry, civil society and academia to discuss how the financial sector can take action to mitigate climate-related financial risks.

Green Swan 2022 takes place on 31 May and 1 June 2022 and will feature a special address by former US vice-president Al Gore.

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The event is jointly organised by the BIS, the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the People’s Bank of China (PBoC). Other featured speakers include PBoC governor Yi Gang, ECB president Christine Lagarde, NGFS chair Ravi Menon, and BIS general manager Agustín Carstens.

Other participants include leaders and senior figures from the Bank of Japan, Bank of England, Central Bank of Brazil, Banque de France (BdF) and De Nederlandsche Bank.

However, noticeably absent from the speakers list are any representatives from the Federal Reserve or other US regulatory authorities. Climate change remains a sensitive political issue in the US and was a key factor in the recent withdrawal of Sarah Bloom Raskin from nomination as supervision vice chair at the Federal Reserve.

Green Swan 2022 will be focused around the themes of monetary policy in the context of climate change and the role of finance in the climate transition. According to the preliminary programme, topics to be discussed include transparency and disclosures, transition plans, and financing green innovation.

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The event will also include a round table discussion on the role of finance in the climate transition and will conclude with a high-level panel discussion between Yi, Lagarde and Carstens.

The conference follows last year’s successful inaugural event, widely credited with introducing a step-change in greater awareness of central banks and financial regulators towards the scale, urgency and threat of the climate crisis. Highlights from that conference included a dramatic U-turn by then-president of the Bundesbank Jens Weidmann on his opposition to market neutrality, and a call from BdF governor Villeroy de Galhau for the greening of ECB monetary policy.

Green Swan 2022 will be held online and all of the proceedings will be livestreamed. Green Central Banking will be following the conference as it happens with a comprehensive live blog, analysis and commentary.

This page was last updated May 31, 2022

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