This publication will follow the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate Related Disclosures and the NGFS guide on disclosure for central banks.12  Third, I would like to address sustainability from the standpoint of the financial system and, in particular, the banking system. As I have noted on other occasions, the banking sector is not the central player or driving force behind the transformation needed to ensure a more sustainable economy. It is public agents, essentially governments, that are best equipped with the mechanisms and instruments needed to instigate these changes. Nonetheless, thanks to its ability to channel funds, the banking sector has a pivotal role to play, one that must be borne in mind and, needless to say, strengthened and supervised. Ensuring a more robust and sustainable financial system is among the goals of the EU and the supervisory authorities. The sector must be stable and resilient so as to be able to properly channel the funding the economy needs. To this end, sustainability-related aspects (including climate risk) must be borne in mind given their impact on the traditional financial risks managed by banks, such as credit risk. The approach taken by supervisors and prudential regulators must be comprehensive and include the identification, measurement, management and monitoring of ESG risks, together with the appropriate disclosure of information on such matters. 11  For more details, see: https://www.bde.es/bde/en/secciones/sobreelbanco/sostenibilidad-medioambiental/informacion-general/PoliticaMonetaria-y-cartera-de-inversion/la-gestion-de-carteras-por-cuenta-propia.html 12  See NGFS (2021). Guide on climate-related disclosure for central banks, December.

Central banks are also keeping an eye on developments in the markets and in the new financing instruments now emerging, in order to understand how the transition is being financed. Indeed, allow me to focus the rest of my address on the work of central banks, since the last five years have seen a considerable expansion in the areas of work incorporating analysis of climate risks and the development of sustainable finance. Network for Greening the Financial System A case in point is the creation of the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS), a group of central banks and supervisors set up in late 2017. Its aims are to contribute to the development of environment and climate risk management in the financial sector, share best practices, perform analytical work and mobilise finance to support the transition towards a sustainable economy. The network is working to incorporate climate-related issues into a range of areas, such as financial supervision, the development of climate scenarios, the inclusion of climate-related issues in the monetary policy framework, the integration of sustainable investment principles into own portfolio management, awareness-raising and, needless to say, environmental management within the institutions themselves. The growing number of subject areas in recent years, and the network’s burgeoning membership, clearly testifies to the increasing engagement of central banks. Compared with the initial group of eight central banks and supervisors,6 the network is now home to 121 institutions and 19 observers from all five continents.