Frank Elderson: We all play a vital role

Keynote speech by Mr Frank Elderson, Executive Director of Supervision of the Netherlands Bank, at the International Capital Markets Conference, Frankfurt am Main, 30 August 2019.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

When I walked out of my hotel this morning, the usual line of taxis was waiting for me. Most were of a particular, well-known brand in Germany. The first in line however, happened to be a Tesla. I was thrilled to be driven in an emission-free fashion to this Conference on Climate Change. I told the driver. He loved the idea as well and explicitly asked me to pass on a message to all of you. I promised him I would do so.

Currently, so my taxi driver told me, in the entire city of Frankfurt there are four fast-charging stations available. (Fast, by the way, means one hour and thirty minutes-) There are considerably more slow charging stations, but charging there takes five to six hours and they are hence not of use for a taxi driver. Of the four fast ones, often one or more are broken or otherwise not available because fossil cars are parked in front of them. My taxi driver happened to be an optimist: his clients love the zero-emission ride he offers them. He knows that he is part of the future. But he wants that future to start now. He knows that requires investments. And he knows that I am now addressing a room full of people who can make that possible. Who can also choose to become part of the future and can grab the myriad of opportunities that future grants us. Just like he does.