1. Central Banks Can and Should Do Their Part in Funding Sustainability
- Author:
- Andrew Sheng
- Publication Date:
- 06-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- Central banks, when purchasing financial assets, should consider selecting assets that will promote sustainability, including climate change mitigation and adaptation. During the 2008 financial crisis, central banks deployed unconventional means to rescue failing banks and insulate economies from depression. Their asset purchases have had strong social impacts, but traditionally, central banks have not explicitly factored social objectives into their decisions or evaluated their impacts beyond the narrow monetary domain. Social impact investing is consistent with a central bank’s mandate to maintain price stability, but those not yet ready to move in this direction should at least incentivize bankers and asset managers to invest in, or lend to, climate mitigation activities and low-emission growth, as well as support a financial transaction tax.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, Markets, Monetary Policy, and Financial Markets
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus