Rajeshwar Rao: Heed to Heal - Climate Change is the Emerging Financial Risk

Keynote Address delivered by Mr Rajeshwar Rao, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Centre for Advanced Financial Research and Learning (CAFRAL) Virtual Conference on Green and Sustainable Finance, virtual, 16 September 2021

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

1. A very good morning to all of you. I am thankful to CAFRAL for having given me an opportunity to interact with the participants of the Virtual Conference on Green and Sustainable Finance.

2. The theme of today's Conference i.e., Green and Sustainable Finance is highly contextual. While the pandemic brought in a myriad set of challenges for the authorities around the world in framing and implementing policies for supporting lives and livelihoods, it has also given us time to pause, reset and reflect on several things including the issue of providing a sustainable, greener and better future for our succeeding generations. The impact of climate change is increasingly seen and felt as it plays out across the globe in different forms be it floods in the United Kingdom, heatwaves and wildfires in Canada and Australia or natural calamities in various parts of India. This Conference organized by CAFRAL gives us an occasion to gather our thoughts and brainstorm on the road ahead on this critical issue.

3. Climate change is possibly the biggest threat staring at the face of humanity. How we tackle this challenge will be a defining moment of our times. The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change2 (IPCC) released last month has further highlighted the need for urgent action in addressing climate change. The report is a stark reminder for all nations that unless we start taking remedial actions urgently, the world is in for difficult times.