[P2P-F] Fwd: Central banks failing to match green rhetoric with action - report

Wed Mar 31 10:58:35 CEST 2021

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Anna Pick <press at positivemoney.org>
Date: Wed, Mar 31, 2021 at 2:58 PM
Subject: Central banks failing to match green rhetoric with action - report
To: Michel Bauwens <michel.bauwens at p2pfoundation.net>

Good morning,

Positive Money has today launched the ‘Green Central Banking Scorecard’, a
report that reveals how G20 central banks are faring on climate action. The
research reveals a complete absence of high impact climate policies among
G20 central banks, only months ahead of the crucial COP26 summit in
November.

Despite the Chancellor’s wish for the UK to be the world leader
<https://positivemoney-org-dot-yamm-track.appspot.com/Redirect?ukey=15WoTxYCo5EoRZGc-f5KyIXCROBEA0684JgUOZ7XKW1c-622811700&key=YAMMID-77510144&link=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.sky.com%2Fstory%2Fa-world-leader-in-green-finance-chancellor-eyes-city-role-in-post-brexit-revival-12128696>
on green finance, the UK comes in 4th, behind China, Brazil and France. The
UK scores 10/10 for research and advocacy, but has so far failed to
translate this into meaningful action, lagging behind on categories for
monetary policy (4/50), financial policy (19/50), and ‘leading by example’
(5/20).

With the UK-hosted G7 Summit
<https://positivemoney-org-dot-yamm-track.appspot.com/Redirect?ukey=15WoTxYCo5EoRZGc-f5KyIXCROBEA0684JgUOZ7XKW1c-622811700&key=YAMMID-77510144&link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.g7uk.org%2Fthe-cornwall-summit%2F>
coming up in June and the Glasgow COP26 talks in November, the Bank of
England has a narrow window to announce concrete measures and establish
itself as a global leader on greening the financial system.

Please find below the full press release, and do get in touch if you would
like further information or a briefing. I am available on 07948802104.

Best,

Anna

###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Central banks failing to match green rhetoric with action - report

Absence of high impact climate policies among G20 central banks, report
reveals

London, 31 March 2020 - Monetary and financial authorities across the
world’s largest economies aren’t practicing what they preach on climate,
according to a new report published today by research and campaign group
Positive Money.

Endorsed by 24 leading research institutes and NGOs, Positive Money’s
‘Green Central Banking Scorecard’ assesses the relative progress G20
central banks have made on sustainability in relation to research and
advocacy, monetary policy, financial policy, as well as other ways they are
leading by example, and sets out what actions policymakers could be taking
to tackle environmental breakdown.

The results show that while 14 out of 20 central banks scored full marks on
their research and advocacy efforts, this has so far rarely translated into
concrete action, with overall scores dragged down by a stark lack of green
monetary and financial policies across the board.

China tops this year’s scorecard with an aggregate score of 50 out of 130,
which equates to a mediocre ‘C’ grade in the scorecard. This reflects the
fact that, while China’s monetary and financial authorities have taken
steps to steer lending towards greener activities, even policymakers in the
top ranking countries still have a long way to go to align finance with the
climate goals governments have committed to.

The report reveals an absence of high-impact policies that meaningfully
reduce financial support for fossil fuels across the G20. In cases where
central banks have integrated climate into their policies, the focus has
been on financial disclosures, stress tests, and encouraging lending
towards green assets, rather than crucial steps to wind down financial
support for fossil-fuel-intensive and ecologically harmful activities.

The authors call for policymakers to urgently remedy this policy shortfall
by taking action to exclude unsustainable activities from the assets they
purchase and accept as collateral for lending, and for financial regulation
to penalise high-carbon lending, with higher capital requirements to more
accurately reflect the risk of fossil fuel investments.

As well as being a necessary prerequisite for central banks’ goals of
maintaining price and financial stability and supporting government policy,
the report also argues that the Covid-19 pandemic, which has origins in
ecological degradation, strengthens the case for central banks taking a
more proactive and interventionist role in promoting sustainability.

Positive Money’s report comes after the 2021 Banking on Climate Change
report from Rainforest Action Network and other NGOs last week revealed
that the world’s 60 largest private banks have financed fossil fuels to the
tune of $3.8 trillion since the Paris Agreement in 2015, with a 10%
increase in fossil fuel expansion projects in 2020.

The report comes as G20 finance ministers and central bankers are set to
meet on 7-8 April to discuss a new Action Plan to address global challenges
including climate and environment-related risks.

David Barmes, Positive Money economist and lead author of the report, said:

“While it’s positive that central bankers are ‘talking the talk’ by
featuring climate more prominently in speeches and research, there has been
a widespread failure to ‘walk the walk’ by turning these words into
concrete policy action.

“The 2008 crash showed financial markets cannot be left to self-regulate in
the face of systemic risk, but by failing to confront the climate crisis we
are repeating the same mistakes on an even bigger scale. Global finance
will continue to generate instability and environmental breakdown until
central banks and supervisors reshape the financial system to better serve
people and the planet.

“Protecting environmental stability is a prerequisite for maintaining
monetary and financial stability. If central banks are to fulfil their core
mandates and support governments’ climate targets, they must step up action
to clamp down on dirty financial flows.”

On the Bank of England falling behind other countries’ central banks ahead
of the UK hosting COP26, Katie Kedward, Policy Fellow at UCL’s Institute
for Innovation and Public Research, said:

“The Bank of England has taken a leading role in its research and advocacy
on climate change. With only months to go before the UK hosts the crucial
COP26 summit, this research underscores that the Bank of England can go
further to contribute to the greening of the financial system.

“The newly updated green mandate from the government will now help the Bank
to take further steps through its monetary and financial policies, and it
is positive to see the recent commitment to decarbonise the corporate bond
purchase portfolio. In order to ‘lead by example’, the Bank of England
should explore how to implement other important policies, such as
climate-aligned capital requirements to actively penalise high-carbon
lending.”

Notes

   1.

   View the report in full:
   https://positivemoney.org/publications/green-central-banking-scorecard/
   <https://positivemoney-org-dot-yamm-track.appspot.com/Redirect?ukey=15WoTxYCo5EoRZGc-f5KyIXCROBEA0684JgUOZ7XKW1c-622811700&key=YAMMID-77510144&link=https%3A%2F%2Fpositivemoney.org%2Fpublications%2Fgreen-central-banking-scorecard%2F>
   2.

   The report will be launched at 13:30 BST on 31 March with an online
   event, featuring contributions from Official Monetary and Financial
   Institutions Forum (OMFIF) chief economist and director of research, Danae
   Kyriakopoulou, International Institute of Green Finance director general
   Yao Wang, and Reclaim Finance executive director Lucie Pinson. Register to
   attend here:
   https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/central-banks-leaders-or-laggards-in-the-climate-challenge-tickets-146926684669
   <https://positivemoney-org-dot-yamm-track.appspot.com/Redirect?ukey=15WoTxYCo5EoRZGc-f5KyIXCROBEA0684JgUOZ7XKW1c-622811700&key=YAMMID-77510144&link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eventbrite.co.uk%2Fe%2Fcentral-banks-leaders-or-laggards-in-the-climate-challenge-tickets-146926684669>

   3.

   For more on how finance is funding fossil fuels, see the latest Banking
   on Climate Chaos report: https://www.ran.org/bankingonclimatechaos2021/
   <https://positivemoney-org-dot-yamm-track.appspot.com/Redirect?ukey=15WoTxYCo5EoRZGc-f5KyIXCROBEA0684JgUOZ7XKW1c-622811700&key=YAMMID-77510144&link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ran.org%2Fbankingonclimatechaos2021%2F>

   4.

   For more information or to arrange a briefing/interview with a
   spokesperson, please contact press at positivemoney.org.uk or Anna Pick on
   07948802104

About Positive Money

Positive Money campaigns for a money and banking system which supports a
fair, democratic and sustainable economy. Set up in the aftermath of the
financial crisis, Positive Money is a not-for-profit company funded by
charitable trusts and foundations, as well as small donations from its
network of over 65,000 supporters. www.positivemoney.org
<https://positivemoney-org-dot-yamm-track.appspot.com/Redirect?ukey=15WoTxYCo5EoRZGc-f5KyIXCROBEA0684JgUOZ7XKW1c-622811700&key=YAMMID-77510144&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.positivemoney.org>

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