is expected to average 4. 6 % in 2023, which is higher than foreseen in the december projections. subsequently, it is projected to come down to 2. 5 % in 2024 and 2. 2 % in 2025, as the upward pressures from past supply shocks and the reopening of the economy fade out and as tighter monetary policy increasingly dampens demand. as inflation is projected to remain too high for too long, the governing council last week decided to increase the three key ecb interest rates by 50 basis points, in line with our determination to ensure the timely return of inflation to our 2 % medium - term target. the elevated level of uncertainty reinforces the importance of a data - dependent approach to our policy rate decisions, which will be determined by our assessment of the inflation outlook in light of the incoming economic and financial data, the dynamics of underlying inflation, and the strength of monetary policy transmission. the key ecb interest rates remain our primary tool for setting the monetary policy stance. 2 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches the reduction of the asset purchase programme ( app ) portfolio – the second topic for today's hearing – is part of our monetary policy normalisation. as of the beginning of this month, the app portfolio has been declining at a measured and predictable pace of €15 billion per month on average and will continue to do so until the end of june 2023. the subsequent pace will be determined over time and the governing council will regularly reassess the pace to ensure it remains consistent with the overall monetary policy strategy and stance, to preserve market functioning and to maintain firm control over short - term money market conditions. conclusion let me now conclude. with war in europe and high inflation requiring immediate action, policymakers may be inclined to divert their attention from long - term challenges – but we must all strive to keep up our efforts to address the existential crisis of climate change. for us at the ecb, this means continuing to make progress on our climate roadmap. 2 this week we will publish the first climate - related financial disclosures of the eurosystem's corporate sector assets held for monetary policy purposes, and of the ecb's own funds and the staff pension fund. we will be joined in the coming weeks by all eurosystem central banks, which will disclose climate information on their own eurodenominated non - monetary policy portfolios. besides helping us be more transparent about our climate impact, these disclosures

help us track our progress towards supporting, within our mandate, a decarbonisation path in line with the goals of the paris agreement and eu climate neutrality objectives. they will show, for example, that our corporate sector portfolio is becoming less carbon intensive, partly thanks to our efforts to tilt purchases towards issuers with a better climate performance. over time – as more and better - quality data become available – we will improve the level of detail and expand reporting to include other portfolios and asset classes. better and harmonised climate disclosures for all asset classes would help not only the ecb, but also the entire financial sector, to better account for climate - related risks. 3 thank you for your attention, i now look forward to your questions. 1 gil - robles, j. m. ( 1999 ), " speech to the european council ", 3 june. 2 ecb ( 2021 ), " ecb presents action plan to include climate change considerations in its monetary policy strategy ", 8 july. 3 https : / / www. ecb. europa. eu / pub / pdf / other / ecb. esa _ ecb _ joint _ statement ~ c1f96d353b. en. pdf. 3 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches