The world now has a unique opportunity – an opportunity to galvanise a deeper appreciation and understanding of the issues that affect us all – globally and simultaneously. Policymakers tackling the health crisis have been encouraged to pursue policies that can alleviate the economic shocks caused by the pandemic and in the same instant help address climate issues and challenges. We can leverage the opportunity presented by the current crisis to put the world on a new trajectory with a lower risk of future climate calamities. 1/3  BIS central bankers' speeches  Collective responsibility This brings me to my second C that is “collective responsibility”. The former Managing Director of IMF, Madam Lagarde once remarked that “Tackling climate change is a collective endeavour, it means collective accountability and it’s not too late”. Malaysia, together with its ASEAN counterparts, has been responding to climate change by developing national sustainable roadmaps, principles and guidelines. Such actions are even more relevant now. Despite a more pressing public health crisis at the moment, the World Health Organization has warned that “climate change is a gradually increasing stress that may be the defining public health threat of the 21st century”. Now why is this? That’s because temperature and weather extremes, floods, and pollutants can impact human health, directly and indirectly. The pandemic thus stresses the need to progressively continue collective global climate change actions to reduce risk of future epidemics. Commitment This brings me to my third C, which is “commitment”.

(ii)  The BoZ took a step towards regulating microfinance institutions (MFIs) in 2006 because these institutions can help in narrowing the access gap in the delivery of financial services. So far, 21 MFIs have been licensed but most of these operate along the line of rail providing mainly salary-backed loans. More institutions are still needed to increase outreach and deliver financial services in a safe, sound and sustainable manner;  (iii)  Zambia is predominantly an agricultural country, but lending to agriculture has been limited. The challenge therefore is to devise financial products that meet the requirements of the rural and predominantly agricultural areas while at the same time devising means of protecting the financial institutions from risks associated with agricultural lending. 8. Allow me to conclude my remarks by highlighting the need for banks and non-bank financial institutions to consider their customers and potential customers when determining the pricing of their products and services. The public continues to decry the high level of charges and interest rates for banking services and products. 9. The BoZ has previously and will continue to appeal to the financial sector to review their charges and to explore ways of enhancing efficiency in service delivery. 10. The majority of Zambians cannot afford the current banking charges and are effectively shut out of the financial system. More affordable banking services will draw in a larger number of Zambians to the financial system, which will in turn be beneficial to the development of the banking system and the economy at large.