Fundi Tshazibana: Building climate resilience amid structural shocks and policy divergence
Address by Ms Fundi Tshazibana, Deputy Governor of the South African Reserve Bank and Chief Executive Officer of the Prudential Authority, at the South African Reserve Bank (SARB)-Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) Research Conference "Navigating climate risks in Southern Africa", hosted by the SARB, Pretoria, 11 March 2026.
The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.
It is a pleasure to welcome you to the South African Reserve Bank for the third day of the NGFS Annual Plenary. We are joined by NGFS members, government policymakers, financial sector experts and academics.
The NGFS has remained steadfast over the past year in its mission to help central banks and financial regulators navigate the complexities of climate and nature-related risks. Our collective efforts have yielded significant milestones, including a comprehensive Group of Twenty (G20) report on integrating adaptation considerations into transition plans and the launch of our first suite of short-term scenarios. Furthermore, we have expanded our technical resources with the second edition of the Guide on Climate Scenario Analysis for Central Banks and Supervisors and underscored the urgency of our work at the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) with the Declaration on the Economic Cost of Climate Inaction.
While central banks continue to recognise the importance of tackling climate change and nature degradation, the global conversation surrounding climate policy has become uncomfortably quiet. As environmental risks have surged over the past 12 months, mitigation efforts have waned. This trend is most evident in the political policy discourse, where climate change has notably slipped off the priority list.
A call for urgency
This growing sense of complacency overlooks a crucial lesson from both crisis management and healthcare: the opportunity for effective intervention narrows significantly as issues advance. Roof leaks left unattended can result in a total collapse of the roof. A tiny spot of mould can spread through all the walls of your home. Of course, one can ignore food allergies and manage them with antihistamine, or train with an injury by taking painkillers. All these examples have financial, lifestyle and health implications. But two of the examples can be life-threatening and even lead to loss of life. There is also the commonality that the mitigants to these problems can be small steps that may minimise or even avoid the impacts.