Climate change may affect the price and financial stability, i.e. the central banks’ goals. Hence, central banks, especially in most developed economies, put greater emphasis on green finances. So far, the National Bank has undertaken several activities for that purpose, such as setting the green finances as a strategic goal and the accession to the International Network for Greening the Financial System.
This was pointed out by the Governor of the National Bank, Anita Angelovska Bezhoska at the United Nations Annual Conference: “How to provide financing for the sustainable development”, at the panel discussion “ What can banks and companies do for the sustainable development?”
“According to certain estimates, the economic damage from the climate changes is around 25% of the global GDP. The IMF estimates that natural disasters related to climate change reduce the growth of 0.4 percentage points, on average, while in less developed economies even up to 0.7 percentage points. It is estimated that the negative effect in the forthcoming period will be even stronger, especially in less developed economies, emphasizing the need for intensified activities of policy makers, as well as the International Community,” said the Governor Angelovska Bezhoska.
When choosing their monetary instruments and foreign reserves management, the central banks put greater emphasis on the climate change risk detection. The transparency is increasing in this filed, we are working on mapping the ecosystem, developing statistical data systems, etc. “The National Bank has a proactive role in this area. In 2021, a Survey was conducted among commercial banks on the current implementation of the green finances”.
According to the results of the Survey, about 70% of the banks approve loans for projects that have positive impact on the environment, while about 43% of the banks have also implemented a formal system for identifying green projects. The share of green loans is about euro 150 million, or only 2.5% of total loans. However, the interest grows, last year there was a growth of 23%, and as of September further growth of about 6%”, said the Governor.
“Generally, the findings of the Survey which do not differ much from the EU surveys, show that the current share of green finances is relatively lower, but the banks are increasingly favoring green loans, which are significant potential for financing environmental projects and sustainable growth in general”, pointed out Angelovska Bezhoska.
The Governor emphasized that the National Bank’s future activities regarding the green finances will be aimed at collecting more detailed data, analysis of the climate changes risk on the banking system and preparation of guidelines for banks on green finances, as well as stress testing of the banking system resilience to climate change.
Source: MIA
