Central Bank of Ireland supports common Eurosystem stance for climate change-related sustainable investments in non-monetary policy portfolios

The Central Bank of Ireland welcomes the announcement from the European Central Bank today (4 February 2021) agreeing a common stance for climate change-related sustainable and responsible investment principles for euro-denominated non-monetary policy portfolios (NMPPs) for Eurosystem central banks. Consistent with the Central Bank’s existing focus on climate-related issues, we fully endorse this common approach. The Central Bank is already working to align itself with this approach in collaboration with our Eurosystem colleagues.

Climate change is already having, and is expected to continue to have, a profound effect on our planet, societies and economies. The transition to a low-carbon economy constitutes major structural change, with significant implications for the economy and the financial system and will require significant adjustments by households, businesses and policymakers globally.

Reflecting the importance of climate change from the perspective of our mandate, the Central Bank has been increasing its own focus in this area in recent years. It has established a dedicated Climate Change Unit and also joined the Network for Greening the Financial System, a group of central banks and supervisors that share experiences and best practices to contribute to the development of climate risk management in the financial sector.

The Central Bank is active in a number of supervisory fora that are considering the impact of climate change on different parts of the financial sector.

We will continue to engage with regulated entities on their management and disclosure of climate-related risks and impacts, and participate actively in the sustainable finance regulatory agenda as we deepen our understanding of the macro-financial impacts of climate change and the transition to a low-carbon economy.