anna maria tarantola : women nurturing sustainable development remarks by ms anna maria tarantola, deputy director general of the bank of italy, at the 58th world forum for women entrepreneurs ( femmes chefs d ’ entreprises mondiales – fcem ) world congress, florence, 22 october 2010. * * * i would like to thank the president of aidda, laura frati gucci, for inviting me to the 58th fcem world congress in this conference entitled “ how women face the new economy and ecology ”. the goal of the conference, to assess women ’ s contribution in balancing economic growth and natural resource conservation, is both topical and challenging. this is not the first time i find myself considering human - ecosystem interaction : natural resources are a fundamental input for production and consumption ; the environment is the receptacle for the waste generated by these processes. 1 the fundamental question we must address today is how to increase and spread wealth and wellbeing while respecting and protecting the environment. the role of women is central. throughout history, women and nature have been closely linked : in ayurvedic philosophy, prakriti – nature – is symbolized by a woman ; similarly, the idea of “ mother earth ” is common to many indo - european cultures. perhaps it is no accident that so many of those who have contributed to raising our environmental consciousness have been – and are – women. let me mention four of these outstanding women. the biologist rachel carlson was the first to study the harmful effects of ddt in the early nineteen - sixties. she can be considered the founder of the modern environmental movement. she was a scientist who stood behind her findings despite fierce attacks from the chemical industry lobby. 2 the environmental scientist donella meadows co - authored the book limits to growth 3 which laid the foundations for an analysis of the earth ’ s limited capacity to support economic and demographic growth. this report was criticized – in particular by economists 4 – but without doubt it had a profound impact on the analytical method used to study environmental problems. meadows used computer technology to apply the theory of complex systems to the economic analysis of the reciprocal effects of growth and the environment ; this is now the standard method to analyse the economic effects of climate change ( integrated assessment modelling ). the nobel peace prize winner wangari maathai, an activist and founder of the environmental movement green belt, contributed importantly to the reforestation of vast areas of kenya. 5 reforestation not only

, effective may 21, 2022. liquidity surplus in the system to a level consistent with the prevailing stance of monetary policy. overall, liquidity management by the reserve bank has been nimble - footed and agile while responding to evolving circumstances. 20. third, our experience in recent years shows that supply shocks have become more frequent with profound implications for inflation management and anchoring of inflation expectations. a key risk of sustained high inflation is that it can de - anchor inflation expectations. it is, therefore, important to remain vigilant and take necessary steps in a calibrated and timely manner to keep expectations firmly anchored. the reserve bank has been quick and calibrated while navigating through such turbulences. we look though fleeting shocks but remain prepared to undertake policy responses if such shocks show signs of persistence and getting generalised. in such a scenario, monetary policy has to focus on containing the second round effects. 21. fourth, price stability and financial stability are complementary to each other. in fact, price stability is an anchor for financial stability – but sometimes, the trade - off between the two becomes a close call as demonstrated in the recent banking sector turmoil in some advanced economies. after a near zero policy rate for a prolonged period, central banks in these economies started raising interest rates aggressively in 2022 which contributed to stress in certain banks in these economies. in contrast, our battle against inflation is not constrained by financial stability concerns. in fact, even during the covid phase, we continuously took measures to strengthen financial stability. the reserve bank has adopted a prudent approach and taken a number of initiatives to revamp regulation and supervision of banks, nbfcs and other financial entities by developing an integrated and harmonized architecture. our banking system remains resilient and healthy with improved capital ratios, asset quality and profitability. 24 22. fifth, central bank communication plays a vital role in on - ground efficacy of monetary policy. a few decades ago, central banks believed that they should be “ shrouded in mystery ”, “ say as little as possible ” and “ say cryptically ”. 25 former chairman of the federal reserve mr. alan greenspan had famously remarked “ if i seem unduly clear to you, you must have misunderstood what i said ”. 26 those times are gone. now, managing expectations through effective communication is a vital instrument in the monetary policy toolkit. in the case of reserve bank, effective forward guidance during the easing cycle reinforced the impact