As a market facilitator, the HKMA is joining hands with various stakeholders to keep enhancing our platform. We are assisting the HKSAR Government in implementing a multi-year green bond issuance programme totalling $ billion. Meanwhile, we have set up a cross-agency steering group that brings together financial regulators and Government agencies in order to create a concrete roadmap to promote green finance in Hong Kong, through addressing crosssectoral regulatory issues and coordinating market development efforts. We will also explore with our Mainland counterparts collaboration opportunities in the green finance space to support 1/2  BIS central bankers' speeches  China’s commitment to achieving carbon neutrality in 2060. 9. Talent and capacity is key to our green strategy. In a recent survey jointly conducted by the HKMA and the banking industry, climate-related risk management was identified as an area with skill gap among practitioners. This challenge is not unique to Hong Kong. The launch of the Alliance is therefore most timely to fill that gap by – - providing a learning and sharing platform for banks to acquire the knowledge and tools to transform into “greener” banks; - helping banks seize climate-related investment opportunities; and - providing thought leadership to advance the green agency globally. 10. Equally important, by helping banks build their capacity, the Alliance will complement the efforts of banking regulators across jurisdictions to enhance the banking sector’s management of climate-related risks and promote sustainable banking. Participating banks will benefit greatly from the IFC’s wealth of knowledge and expertise in the field of green finance.

Third, the euro area has a balanced current account. As such, the euro area does not contribute to global imbalances, one of the main challenges facing the global economy and the world community. It is worth stressing that the euro area is the relevant dimension to consider for a vast single currency and economic area with a common exchange rate and monetary policy. And there, the numbers are clear: the euro area current account balance averaged less than 0.1% of GDP over 2005–2007 before the global crisis broke out, according to IMF figures. Moreover, the euro area current account is still projected by the Fund to be broadly balanced this year and the next up to 2015. The picture is very different in other parts of the world. A concern is that after some partial reduction induced by the crisis, global imbalances are starting to widen again. This raises challenges for international monetary and financial cooperation. The euro area has a significant stake in effective global re-balancing, notably through sounder domestic policies worldwide which, in turn, would contribute to global external stability. The global economy has a lot of homework to do if it is to address these challenges. People of goodwill, inspired by the desire to keep the global economy “open, market-based, just and protective” will surely be needed to that end. Credit should therefore be given to initiatives such as the Global Economy Prize to encourage them to press ahead in that direction. 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches