Climate change also has an impact on prosperity. Here's why central banks are right to place it at the very top of their policy agenda. Financial actors are also exposed to climate risks, say Daniela Kletzan-Slamanig and Angela Köppl (both Wifo), Irene Monasterolo (WU) and Asjad Naqvi (IIASA) in a guest commentary.

In a guest commentary in the STANDARD, Heike Lehner concluded that it would not be the task of the European Central Bank (ECB) to tackle climate change (see "Frau Lagarde's instinct for the climate"). Whilst climate policy in the narrow sense is not among the responsibilities of a central bank, it is very much its core task to safeguard the stability of financial markets. As former Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, noted as far back as 2015, climate change poses a major risk to financial stability and our long-term prosperity. He further stated the following year that whilst fiscal policy would by no means determine the transformation towards carbon neutrality — this would be driven by climate policy frameworks and private investment — central banks must nonetheless ensure the resilience of the financial system under the conditions of the transition, and contribute to enabling markets to adapt to the new conditions as smoothly as possible.

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