As groups of Extinction Rebellion protestors glued themselves to public transit and closed down large swathes of central London last week in a series of demonstrations that continued Thursday, a very different group was gathering just a couple hours’ train journey away in Paris. They, too, were meeting to discuss the impact of climate change, what they would do about it, and to send an urgent message to the world. In open letter, the banks wrote: “The prime responsibility for climate policy will continue to sit with governments. And the private sector will determine the success of the adjustment. But as financial policymakers and prudential advisors, we cannot ignore the obvious risk before our eyes.” Momentum is building behind central banks’ pragmatic approach to climate change, one that sidesteps the moral or political case and goes straight to the heart of what central banks do: manage a nation’s financial risk. With a warming climate threatening the value of loans, insurance, industries, and whole economies, those banks say doing nothing is not an option. This stark reality is part of the reason why Norway is selling off its $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund, which is managed by the country’s central bank.
Surprisingly enough, central banks are leading calls for climate action
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