The role of central banks in scaling up sustainable finance – what do monetary authorities in the Asia-Pacific region think?

Abstract

This article presents the findings of a survey among 18 central banks from the Asia-Pacific region regarding their views on approaches to scale up sustainable finance and develop policies to address climate and environmental risks. It also reviews recent developments in selected Asia-Pacific countries to illustrate actions monetary and financial authorities have already taken to address climate and environmental risk, and in scaling up sustainable finance. The survey results show that this is a topic of increasing importance and relevance to monetary authorities in the region. The vast majority of survey respondents believe that they should be playing a key role in promoting green finance and sustainable funding options, either through amending the regulatory framework, encouraging green loans and products or by introducing climate change considerations in their monetary and financial policy operations.