Climate action

  • The ECB has developed a climate action plan.

  • The Bundesbank procured data on companies’ climate impacts, to be used by eurosystem central banks to green their balance sheets, and to support their regulatory functions.

  • The ECB has launched a climate stress test.

Climate inaction

  • The Bundesbank has historically opposed climate action by the ECB.

  • The eurosystem’s corporate bond purchases and collateral framework have been found to have a carbon bias.

  • The Bundesbank has yet to apply climate criteria in its own investments.

How the Deutsche Bundesbank stacks up

Rank Country Aggregate Score (out of 130) Grade (A+ to F) Research and Advocacy (out of 10) Monetary Policy (out of 50) Financial Policy (out of 50) Leading by Example (out of 20)
3 GermanyGermany 60 C+ 10 12 30 8

Central Bank/Supervisor

Deutsche Bundesbank, European Central Bank and European Banking Authority

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Research & Advocacy

10 out of 10

High-impact

  • N/A

Medium-impact

  • Bundesbank is an NGFS member

Low-impact

Monetary Policy

12 out of 50

High-impact

  • N/A

Medium-impact

Low-impact

  • Advanced ESG data model in the Centralised Securities Database (CSDB), identifying all types of sustainable bonds; will rank sustainability level as “self labelled”, “verified by a second party” and “fully certified”

  • ECB accepts sustainability-linked bonds as collateral

  • ECB will make environmental sustainability disclosures a condition of eligibility in collateral purchases (formal commitment, implementation in 2026)

  • ECB will make environmental sustainability disclosures a condition of eligibility in the corporate sector purchase programme (formal commitment, implementation in Q1 2023)

  • ECB purchased green bonds under both the corporate and public sector purchase programmes

  • Climate change risks incorporated into haircuts applied to corporate bonds used as collateral (under discussion at ECB)

  • Eurosystem will implement a set of common minimum standards for how national central banks’ in-house credit assessment systems should include climate-related risks in their ratings (formal commitment, implementation in 2024)

Financial Policy

30 out of 50

High-impact

  • Climate-related quantitative and qualitative restrictions on banks’ portfolios (under discussion at ECB)

Medium-impact

Low-impact

Leading by Example

8 out of 20

High-impact

  • N/A

Medium-impact

  • N/A

Low-impact

  • Sustainable investment policies in Bundesbank’s euro- denominated non-monetary policy portfolio includes tilting based on carbon risk rating and greenhouse gas intensity

  • Disclosure of Bundesbank’s progress towards operational environmental goals in environment reports

  • Education for young people, high-school teachers and students, and university students on climate-related financial risk and green finance within Bundesbank, and at Euro20+ events

  • Eurosytem’s BIS innovation hub to build a database of corporate climate-related disclosures (formal commitment)

  • Green finance dashboard hosted by Bundesbank; tracks national emissions and green finance metrics

  • Eurosystem has contracted ESG rating agencies Carbon4 and ISS ESG to integrate climate risk into the non-monetry policy portfolio

  • Climate-related disclosures of euro-denominated non-monetary policy portfolios by Deutsche Bundesbank (2022 results)

  • Creation of green finance steering committee

  • Contributed to the development of the EU taxonomy; scorecard points suspended due to inclusion of gas

  • Internal environmental policy

What steps are missing in the Deutsche Bundesbank toolbox to address climate risk?

Civil society expects the bank to do the following:

  • Along with the rest of the eurosystem, fully decarbonise its collateral framework and asset purchases.

  • Follow the Banque de France’s example in committing to phase out its fossil fuel investments.

  • Adjust its refinancing operations in line with the 1.5°C targets of the Paris Agreement.

  • Ensure its responsible investment charter is fully aligned with the Paris goals.

  • Support development and implementation of macroprudential measures to align financial flows with the Paris agreement.