you and banks should be reciprocal, open and legal cooperative relations. more concretely, business should understand that bank is an integral part of its activity, if it is willing to be successful for a long - term period. finally, i would encourage more institutionalised links of the banking system with various business organisations. maybe it is time that association of banks establishes regular contacts with business representations, contacts that would certainly upgrade the relations between business and bank to a higher level. also, i use the opportunity to renew the bank of albania commitment to participate in this initiative by offering its expertise in projects, round tables, forums, debates, etc., which will aim at improving the business climate as well as increasing and channelling more efficiently the bank credit. thank you. 4 / 4

rajeshwar rao : mitigating climate change risks and fostering a robust ecosystem for sustainable finance keynote address by mr rajeshwar rao, deputy governor of the reserve bank of india, at the international conference, organised by the institute of south asian studies ( isas ) at the national university of singapore ( nus ), new delhi, 29 november 2024. * * * distinguished guests, ladies, and gentlemen, good morning. let me, at the outset, thank the organisers for inviting me here to share my thoughts on climate change, one of the most critical issues we face, not just as individuals, but as the collective global community. as per the latest report from the copernicus climate change service's1, the year 2024 will be the warmest year in the era5 reanalysis dataset, going back to 1940. this was also estimated to be the second - warmest october globally, after october 2023 with the average temperatures 1. 65ºc above the pre - industrial level while also marking it the 15th month in a 16 - month period where average temperatures were above the 1. 5ºc threshold set by the paris agreement. thus, the writing on the wall seems to tell us that unless we collectively take strong action, a grim future lies ahead. the recent tragic events, be it in valencia, spain, wayanad, kerala, or back - to - back hurricanes in usa, are stark reminders of the perils of climate change that the world at large is exposed to. it impacts our day - to - day lives in one form or other be it through heavy rainfall, flash floods, cyclones, droughts, melting of glaciers, loss of biodiversity, etc., and that too with increased frequency and severity. there can be no doubt therefore that climate change is going to be a major risk for the financial system, economy, and society at large with risks of severe catastrophic events putting at stake our very survival. the financial system not only needs to brace up and equip itself to the present and future impacts arising from climate change, but should also play a catalytic role by overcoming the consequent challenges that arise. the biggest challenge faced by us and the emerging markets and developing economies is lack of adequate financing for development of sustainable technologies and requisite infrastructure to mitigate and adapt to climate change and build a robust sustainable financial system. india looks to be particularly vulnerable to climate change given its geographic location. it is estimated