On May 12, 2021, 21 Belgian civil society organizations wrote to the National Bank of Belgium (NBB) asking it to stop blocking climate integration at the European Central Bank (ECB). The open letter comes as the Governor of the NBB, unlike several of his European colleagues, has spoken out against climate action.

The open letter – published in French in l’Echo and in Dutch in Knack – is crucial to advance the climate debate that is currently raging at the ECB. While the Dutch and French central bank governors and several ECB board members have clearly stressed the need to adapt the ECB’s operations to climate issues, the Belgian and German governors are taking a much more conservative position.

The Governor of the NBB, Pierre Wunsch, has been very vocal in his opposition to climate measures. He went so far as to deny that climate risks are not taken into account by the market.

The NBB’s position ignores both the work carried out by the financial sector itself – notably within the Network For Greening the Financial System (NGFS) – and the European climate objectives.