Publications on Climate change

Policy makers around the world need to move faster to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Latest scenarios are alarming as the foreseeable impact of climate change is worse than previously projected. This ECB Blog post discusses the risks of further delaying the green transition.

European firms need to invest in new technologies to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. This often requires them to take on debt. But what if a company is already highly leveraged? The ECB Blog looks at the relationship between firms’ indebtedness and their success in reducing emissions.

Speech by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the Hearing of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament

Europe must push the green transition forward if it wants to remain competitive in the world. New technologies and green energy aren’t just better for the environment, they also make good economic sense. To be successful, however, the transition needs to be just and inclusive.

Speech by Frank Elderson, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, at the Bertelsmann Stiftung, Berlin

Opening remarks by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the joint IEA-ECB-EIB High-Level International Conference on “Ensuring an orderly energy transition: Europe’s competitiveness and financial stability in a period of global energy transformation”

Interview with Frank Elderson, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, conducted by Luke Heighton on 22 September 2023

Speech by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the Mediterranean Meetings

Keynote speech by Frank Elderson, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, Springtij Forum

Moving towards carbon neutrality as quickly and boldly as possible is by far the best way to slow down climate change. It may take more effort in the short run, but in the long run it will cost less overall, says ECB Vice-President Luis de Guindos. We need to reach carbon neutrality to avoid existential risks to nature, people and our economies. And we need to start making changes soon. Procrastinating may be easier and less costly today, but means we will pay a higher price tomorrow: the damage to our environment and economies from rising temperatures will be much more severe. In fact, the sooner and faster we complete the necessary green transition, the lower the overall costs and risks. This is one of the main outcomes of our second economy-wide climate stress test. Let me talk you through the findings.

Introductory remarks by Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the Legal Conference organised by the European Central Bank on “The incorporation of environmental considerations in the supervision of prudential risks”

Keynote speech by Frank Elderson, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, at the ECB Legal Conference

Speech by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the annual Economic Policy Symposium "Structural Shifts in the Global Economy" organised by Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in Jackson Hole

Speech by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the Summit for a new global financing pact in Paris

Humanity needs nature to survive, and so do the economy and banks. The more species become extinct, the less diverse are the ecosystems on which we rely. This presents a growing financial risk that cannot be ignored, warns Frank Elderson, member of the Executive Board of the ECB and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB.

Interview with Frank Elderson, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, conducted by Martin Arnold on 1 June 2023

Can EU companies be both green and globally competitive? Tradeable allowances for carbon emissions set important price incentives for companies to become greener. Unfortunately, evidence shows that many companies move carbon intensive production to other regions, meaning their emissions leak abroad. This ECB Blog post investigates how the EU can strike a balance between green goals and competitiveness.

Carbon pricing is a central instrument in the EU’s fight against climate change, but it will also affect our economies. In this post on The ECB Blog, we use macroeconomic models to look at what higher prices for carbon emissions will do to growth and inflation.

Speech by Frank Elderson, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, State of the Union conference organised by the European University Institute

The EU has a problem with climate catastrophe insurance: only a quarter of the losses from climate-related disasters are covered. Greater coverage could reduce the economic damage that results from them. This joint ECB-EIOPA post for The ECB Blog looks at ways to make this happen.

Speech by Frank Elderson, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, at the Peterson Institute for International Economics

Keynote speech by Frank Elderson, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, at the Foreign Bankers’ Association (FBA) 30th anniversary

The ECB is for the first time disclosing the carbon footprint of its own investment portfolios and the Eurosystem’s corporate sector holdings. Executive Board members Frank Elderson and Isabel Schnabel explain the progress made and the next steps needed to decarbonise the portfolios of the ECB and the Eurosystem.

Interview with Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted and published on 10 February 2023

Speech by Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the International Symposium on Central Bank Independence, Sveriges Riksbank, Stockholm

Interview with Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted by Gerald Braunberger and Christian Siedenbiedel on 16 December 2022

Keynote speech by Frank Elderson, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, Lustrum Symposium organised by Dutch Financial Law Association

A shared understanding of how climate change affects the economy can be the basis for global action. To help inform and guide policy across the globe central bankers and supervisors have developed climate scenarios. This is the final post in a series on the occasion of COP27.

Speech by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the European Banking Congress

Speech by Fabio Panetta, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the Italian Banking Association

Dinner speech by Frank Elderson, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, on the occasion of the 25th Euro Finance Week, Deutsche Bundesbank

Europe is punching below its weight in the climate-technology competition. The continent needs to facilitate risk capital markets and to invest more in research and development. This is the 4th post in a series of climate-related entries on the occasion of COP27.

We need to intensify the greening of our economies despite the energy crisis. Hastening the process will reduce the costs of transition and help to ensure price stability in the long run. This is the third post in a series of climate-related entries on the occasion of COP27.

Panel contribution by Frank Elderson, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, at the Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association COP27 side event on “Investing in and financing the acceleration of sustainable development in a net zero scenario” in Sharm El-Sheikh

If we do not account for the impact of climate change on our economy, we risk missing a crucial part in our work to keep prices stable, argues Christine Lagarde in the ECB Blog. This is the second entry in a series of climate related entries on the occasion of COP27.

Speech by Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB, at Energy Prospectives event organised by IESE Business School and Naturgy Foundation

Banks must adapt the way they do business to account for climate-related and environmental risks. The ECB Blog takes a fresh look at their progress and the road ahead. This is the first post in a series of climate-related entries on the occasion of COP27.

Statement by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the forty-sixth meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee

Keynote speech by Frank Elderson, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, at De Nederlandsche Bank/Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum conference on “Moving beyond climate: integrating biodiversity into financial markets” at Artis Zoo in Amsterdam

Speech by Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium organised by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Interview with Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, conducted by Morgane Miel on 13 July 2022 and published on 25 August 2022

The ECB is reducing the carbon footprint in its portfolio and pushing banks to better manage climate risks. Within our mandate, we incorporate climate change considerations into our monetary policy and banking supervision, say Frank Elderson and Isabel Schnabel.

Keynote speech by Frank Elderson, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, 10th Annual Conference on Bank Steering & Bank Management at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management

Keynote speech by Philip R. Lane, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, International Association for Official Statistics (IAOS) Conference, Kraków

Statement by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the forty-fifth meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee

Speech by Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at a panel on “Monetary Policy and Climate Change” at The ECB and its Watchers XXII Conference

Keynote speech by Frank Elderson, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, 14^th European Bank Institute Policy Webinar on the ECB’s supervisory approach on climate-related and environmental risks

Keynote speech by Frank Elderson, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, Industry outreach on the thematic review on climate-related and environmental risks

Introductory statement by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the plenary session of the European Parliament

Interview on Twitter with Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted and published on 9 February 2022

Remarks by Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at a panel on “Climate and the Financial System” at the American Finance Association 2022 Virtual Annual Meeting

Welcome remarks by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB and Chair of the European Systemic Risk Board, at the fifth annual conference of the ESRB

Lectio Magistralis by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei

Speech by Frank Elderson, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, ECB Legal Conference 2021

Remarks by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the ECB Forum on Banking Supervision, 9 November 2021

Panel contribution by Frank Elderson, Chair of the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, at COP26 World Leaders’ Summit Presidency Event on “Action on Forest and Land Use”

The COP26 summit is a vital opportunity to set out a clear path towards a zero-carbon world, President Lagarde writes in a blog post. While the road ahead may seem daunting, she argues that a credible transition path will need clear signposts to break it up into more manageable stages.

Interview with Frank Elderson, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, conducted by Francine Lacqua, Bloomberg TV, on 2 November

Keynote speech by Frank Elderson, Chair of the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, at the COP26 Finance Day Presidency Event on “A Financial System for Net Zero”

Keynote speech by Frank Elderson, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, at the Financial Market Authority’s Supervisory Conference

Keynote speech by Frank Elderson, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, at the 31st Lisbon meeting between the central banks of Portuguese-speaking countries

2021 Per Jacobsson Lecture by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the IMF Annual Meetings

Statement by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the forty-fourth meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee

Speech by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the Finance at Countdown event

Panel contribution by Philip R. Lane, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, to the 5^th Joint Regional Financing Arrangements Research Seminar organised by the European Stability Mechanism

Interview with Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, conducted by Annette Weisbach, CNBC, on 23 September

Speech by Frank Elderson, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, at the 8th Conference on the Banking Union, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main

Speech by Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, 148th Baden-Baden Entrepreneurs’ Talk

Interview with Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, conducted by Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, on 30 August 2021

The existential threat posed by climate change implies that central banks must not stand on the sidelines in the fight against global warming, writes Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel. Our ambitious climate action plan outlines how the ECB will contribute within its mandate.

Interview with Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted by Carla Neuhaus on 17 August and published on 20 August 2021

Interview with Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, conducted by Martin Arnold on 11 July 2021

Speech by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the International Climate Change Conference in Venice

Interview with Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted by Patrick Bernau and Dennis Kremer on 8 July and published on 10 July 2021

Speech by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the Brussels Economic Forum 2021

Speech by Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB, at the Frankfurt Euro Finance Summit

Interview with Philip R. Lane, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted by Paul Gordon on 17 June 2021

Keynote speech by Frank Elderson, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, at the ECB-EBRD joint conference on “Emerging climate-related risk supervision and implications for financial institutions”

Welcome address by Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the ECB DG-Research Symposium “Climate change, financial markets and green growth”

Interview with Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, conducted by Johanna Treeck and Florian Eder on 11 June 2021 in Frankfurt

Speech by Frank Elderson, Chair of the Central Banks and Supervisors Network for Greening the Financial System, Member of the Executive Board and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, at The Green Swan Conference – Coordinating finance on climate

Keynote speech by Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the “VIII. New Paradigm Workshop”, organised by the Forum New Economy

Keynote speech by Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB, at the joint ECB and European Commission conference on “European Financial Integration and Stability”

Climate change and sustainability are global challenges that require global solutions, especially in the financial sector, writes Executive Board member Fabio Panetta. We need international disclosure standards and principles to categorise sustainable activities.

Speech by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the European Commission’s high-level conference on the proposal for a Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, 6 May 2021

Keynote speech by Frank Elderson, Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board and Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the conference on “The Role of Banks in Greening Our Economies” organised by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Hrvatska narodna banka

Interview on Twitter with Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted and published on 28 April 2021

Interview with Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted by Tim Bartz and Stefan Kaiser on 1 April and published on 9 April 2021, in print on 10 April 2021

Statement by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the forty-third meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee

The damage caused by more frequent and severe natural disasters far exceeds the costs of transitioning to a greener economy, writes Vice-President Luis de Guindos in his ECB Blog post on our first climate stress test for banks and companies.

Interview on Twitter with Frank Elderson, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted and published on 16 March 2021

Interview with Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted by Guillaume Benoit, Elsa Conesa, Lucie Robequain and Sophie Rolland

Intervention by Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the “Greening Monetary Policy – Central Banking and Climate Change” online seminar, organised as part of the “Cleveland Fed Conversations on Central Banking”, 3 March 2021

Interview with Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the European Central Bank (ECB), conducted by Sérgio Aníbal

Climate change requires urgent action and we at the ECB must be committed to doing our part, says Executive Board member Frank Elderson. The EU Treaties define clear obligations and limits. They provide substantial scope for the ECB to take action on climate change.

Introductory statement by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the plenary session of the European Parliament

Interview with Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, conducted by Marie-Pierre Gröndahl and Hervé Gattegno

Interview with Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted by Klemens Kindermann on 29 January 2021 and published on 31 January 2021

Introductory statement by Frank Elderson, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the ECON Committee of the European Parliament

Keynote speech by Fabio Panetta, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the 50th anniversary of the Associazione Italiana per l’Analisi Finanziaria (by videoconference)

Keynote speech by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the ILF conference on Green Banking and Green Central Banking

Interview with Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted by Jana Randow, Carolynn Look and Alexander Weber on 30 November 2020

Interview with Yves Mersch, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, conducted by Kai Johannsen and published on 21 November 2020

Interview with Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, conducted by Alison Smale and Jack Ewing on 10 November 2020

Interview with Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted by Jan Mallien and Frank Wiebe

Interview with Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, conducted by Marie Charrel and Eric Albert

Interview with Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB

Interview with Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB, conducted by Luke Heighton on 29 September 2020

Speech by Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the European Sustainable Finance Summit, Frankfurt am Main, 28 September 2020

Interview with Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted by Balazs Koranyi and Frank Siebelt on 28 August 2020 and published on 31 August 2020

Interview with Christine Lagarde, conducted by Dominique Lecoq and Marc Aubault on 29 July and published on 31 July

Video interview with Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, conducted live by David Ignatius on 22 July 2020

Speech by Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at a virtual roundtable on “Sustainable Crisis Responses in Europe” organised by the INSPIRE research network, 17 July 2020

Video interview with Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, conducted by Roula Khalaf on 7 July 2020 and posted on 8 July 2020

Interview on Twitter with Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted and published on 9 June 2020

Introductory statement by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the ECON committee of the European Parliament (by videoconference)

Interview with Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, conducted by Léa Salamé and Thomas Sotto on 4 June 2020

Interview with Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted by Karen Horn

Speech by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the launch of the COP 26 Private Finance Agenda

Interview with Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted by Anja Ettel and Holger Zschäpitz on 10 February 2020, published on 11 February 2020

Introductory statement by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, on the occasion of the presentation of the ECB Annual Report 2018 at the European Parliament

Interview with Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB, conducted by Andrés Stumpf on 6 February 2020 and published on 10 February 2020

Speech by Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB, at the XXVI Santander Iberian Conference

Speech by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the "Grand Prix de l’Économie des Echos pour l’année 2019"

Interview with Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, conducted by Francine Lacqua and broadcast on 24 January

Interview with Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, conducted by Jean-Paul Chapel

Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB, Frankfurt am Main, 23 January 2020

Presentation by Philip R. Lane, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the Bank of England Workshop on "The Future of Inflation Targeting" in London, 9 January 2020

Interview with Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, by Pierre-Henri de Menthon and Sabine Syfuss-Arnaud

Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB, Frankfurt am Main, 12 December 2019

Remarks by Benoît Cœuré, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the PSE job forum, Paris School of Economics

Speech by Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB, at the European Savings and Retail Banking Group Conference, “Creating sustainable financial structures by putting citizens first”

Speech by Sabine Lautenschläger, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at lecture series “Mein Europa”, Heinrich-Heine University

Speaking notes by Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB, at roundtable event on climate-related risks at Bloomberg

Panel remarks by Sabine Lautenschläger, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the Network for Greening the Financial System Conference, in Paris, France, 17 April 2019

Speech by Yves Mersch, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, Workshop discussion: Sustainability is becoming mainstream, Frankfurt, 27 November 2018

Speech by Benoît Cœuré, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at a conference on “Scaling up Green Finance: The Role of Central Banks”, organised by the Network for Greening the Financial System, the Deutsche Bundesbank and the Council on Economic Policies, Berlin, 8 November 2018

Speech by Sabine Lautenschläger, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, at the 13th ASBA-BCBS-FSI High-Level Meeting on Global and Regional Supervisory Priorities in Nassau, Bahamas, 30 October 2018