Paolo Angelini: The many shades of climate change through the
lenses of dispute settlement
Keynote speech by Mr Paolo Angelini, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Italy, at "The
Many Shades of Climate Change through the Lenses of Dispute Settlement"'
conference, organised by the Bank of Italy and the Roma TRE Unidroit Centre, Rome, 8
November 2024.
* * *
1. Introduction
The Bank of Italy has long been a careful observer of themes related to the
environment, climate change and sustainability, for four main reasons. First,
developments in these fields can have consequences for the economy, and need to be
thoroughly understood for conducting monetary policy. Second, the Bank considers
climate-related - physical and transition - risks in conducting its supervision and
financial stability functions, as these risks feed the classical risk categories to which
intermediaries are exposed (credit, market, operational, liquidity). Third, the Bank, while
not subjected to the EU climate legislation, is committed to reducing its environmental
footprint; it has been publishing an annual Environment report since 2010, and is
working towards reaching net zero emissions by 2050.
Finally, the Bank owns a relatively large portfolio of assets for non-monetary
policyrelated purposes, and is committed to invest it according to sustainability criteria.
This attention to environmental themes is shared internationally by over 140 central
banks and supevisory authorities that have joined the Network for Greening the
Financial System (NGFS). The Network, launched in 2017, has the objective to share
analyses, methodologies, experiences and best practices in the environmental field,
with a particular focus on climate risks.
From this brief overview, it is clear that the theme of today's conference, legal risk
stemming from climate change and other environment-related disputes, is fully in scope
for the Bank of Italy, and more broadly for the entire community of central banks and
supervisors.