{"id":21250,"date":"2022-05-06T16:09:38","date_gmt":"2022-05-06T14:09:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reclaimfinance.org\/site\/?p=21250"},"modified":"2023-03-24T17:53:47","modified_gmt":"2023-03-24T16:53:47","slug":"ecb-a-climate-roadmap-and-now-what","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reclaimfinance.org\/site\/en\/2022\/05\/06\/ecb-a-climate-roadmap-and-now-what\/","title":{"rendered":"European Central Bank: a climate roadmap and now what?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The European Central Bank’s (ECB) first ever climate strategy unveiled in 2021 marks a symbolic shift in the European Union (EU) monetary policy. However, while climate change is now an unavoidable element to consider for Eurosystem central bankers, the roadmap falls short of supporting the EU transition and do not even cut the ECB\u2019s support to companies that dig new coal mines or oil and gas wells. Staying deaf to the climate emergency and energy price crisis, the ECB prefers to focus on considering the financial risks climate change can create. Reclaim Finance and 16 NGOs put forward key recommendations to leverage the ECB\u2019s climate roadmap and truly consider climate change in its operations. <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

In July 2021, after a lengthy revision process, the European Central Bank (ECB) presented a \u201cclimate roadmap\u201d. It marked a\u202fmajor shift in the central banks\u2019 thinking\u202fbut failed to address climate emergency. The measures it contains will take years to have an effect and are limited in scope.<\/a><\/u><\/p>\n

The ECB did not even<\/a><\/u> cut its support \u2013 through asset purchases and the acceptance in the list of collaterals – to the most polluting companies, including companies that develop new fossil fuel supply projects. While it was finalizing and publishing its climate roadmap, the ECB continued to buy bonds from the five EU oil and gas majors<\/a><\/u> through its Covid-branded stimulus package. This led it to by an estimate \u20ac80 billion of bonds from carbon-intensive companies<\/a><\/u> from March 2020 to September 2021, including \u20ac15.3bn of fossil fuel bonds.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, the ECB\u2019s roadmap did not contain any measure<\/a><\/u> that would help the EU reach its climate goals and accelerate its decarbonization. This is a critical flaw in a time where the EU is scrambling to respond to both the energy price crisis and to speed-up its ecological transition.<\/p>\n

Building on this assessment, Reclaim Finance and 16 partners built a position paper that\u202fcalls on the ECB to support the low-carbon transition and to fully integrate climate impacts and risks into all its operations.\u202fThis paper echoes the demand of EU citizens<\/a><\/u> that pushed the ECB to take a bold approach to climate change and immediately stop supporting fossil fuel companies<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n<\/div>

Civil society organizations propose four principles that the ECB must follow\u202fto build a fairer, more sustainable and democratic monetary system:<\/p>\n