Frank Elderson: Are we doing enough?

Keynote speech by Mr Frank Elderson, Executive Director of Supervision of the Netherlands Bank, at the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) 9th Annual Conference, Frankfurt am Main, 19 November 2019.

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

At EIOPA's 9th annual Conference, Frank Elderson was asked to present a keynote speech. In this speech Elderson explains how climate change impacts insurance companies and pension funds. He also describes the efforts the different parties in the field have taken, in order to discuss whether these efforts are enough.

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This year, 2019, has been a year of great momentum. No time to sit back, but we must take some time to look back and see how far we have come. EIOPA has come a long way in addressing climate and sustainability. And I would like to commend EIOPA, under the leadership of Gabriel Bernardino, for this. It is encouraging to see how much progress we have made. This needed all hands on deck. Not only from the financial sector, but from national and international regulators, as well as the government. And this is what we have done.

But before I highlight some of our achievements, I want to ask you a question. One important question for all of you. About climate change. A question to which I would love to hear your answers: Are we - we as supervisors, central bankers, and the financial sector - are we doing enough? Doing enough to manage and prevent climate risks?