Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 14 February 2024

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach

Engagement with the Central Bank of Ireland

Mr. Vasileios Madouros:

As the Governor mentioned, there is a lot of work going on in the Central Bank on climate change and sustainable investment. I will try to cover it under each of the categories, if that is okay. The role of the financial system in the transition to net zero is absolutely critical because the financial system will help to finance that transition. It will help to channel people's savings into sustainable investment that enables the transition to a net zero economy. This private finance dimension is absolutely critical. In that context, I would identify two dimensions at a high level that we are particularly focused on. The first is making sure that the financial system itself is resilient to the risks posed by climate change, whether that is the physical risks associated with climate change or the potential risk that might stem from the transition to net zero. That is really important because it is critical that the financial system is resilient to those risks because it will need to finance that transition. That entails a number of dimensions, including understanding-----