to the centre of the policy agenda, making the climate challenge a cross - cutting priority across all of its activities. at the g20 level, we have been exploring the issues related to sustainable finance and climate change since 2016. the italian presidency has proposed to re - establish the sustainable finance study group which will take stock of the recent developments on sustainable finance and climate risks, with the ultimate goal of suggesting a ‘ sustainable ’ growth path. the urgency of the recovery could renew momentum and reshape our economic model around a low - carbon strategy : improving energy efficiency, deploying renewables and energy storage and developing carbon capture technologies. the works of the group under the italian presidency will mainly focus on improving the quality, availability and comparability of data to assess climate - related issues and, more generally, sustainability, financial risks, and opportunities. the group could also investigate the areas of future action to achieve the sustainable development agenda of the united nations, in particular access to modern forms of sustainable energy and natural capital conservation and restoration. the transition to a zero - emissions economy can be fostered by the financial system, given its key role in the allocation of resources. several analyses show that incorporating environmental, social and governance ( esg ) factors in investment strategies does not hamper their financial performance. the risk - adjusted returns to sustainable investment are indeed often higher than those achieved using traditional financial models. during the recent market turmoil, the preferences of financial investors for sustainable investments have proven resilient. another important venue to discuss all possible instruments to reach carbon neutrality, including ‘ climate cooperation ’, will be this year ’ s conference of the parties ( cop26 ), under the united nations framework convention on climate change. the coincidence of italy being president of the g20 and co - chair of the cop26 ( the other chair is the uk, which is president of the g7 ) may allow us to bring forward the climate change agenda on many fronts simultaneously, such as the involvement of the private sector in the financing of the green agenda. 8. the covid - 19 pandemic and the ensuing global health crisis have clearly highlighted the costs of extreme health emergencies. the risk of another pandemic is high. in 2018, in an article for the world health organisation ( who ), larry summers and two distinguished public health scholars wrote that : ‘ few doubt that major epidemics and pandemics will strike again and few would argue that the world is adequately prepared ’. 1 evidently, last

ignazio visco : inflation, monetary policy and inequalities. some thoughts statement by mr ignazio visco, governor of the bank of italy and governor of the constituency of albania, greece, italy, malta, portugal, san marino and timor - leste, at the 107th meeting of the development committee ( joint ministerial committee of the boards of governors of the bank and the fund on the transfer of real resources to developing countries ), washington dc, 12 april 2023. * * * after more than a year, the world continues to be shaken by the unlawful and unjustified russian aggression to ukraine. we strongly support and admire the ukrainian people for their spirited and courageous resistance, and we commend the world bank group ( wbg ) for its continued support to ukraine, including through the careful assessment of damage and needs. the global economy has shown more resilience than expected. available indicators suggest that the slowdown, though substantial, is smaller than anticipated until a few months ago. still, we are dealing with an extremely uncertain environment, and growth and inflation continue to be adversely affected by the war. recent banking distress episodes and the subsequent tensions, though contained by the appropriate response of domestic authorities, make the outlook for the global economy and financial stability more uncertain and prone to downside risks. these episodes indicate the importance of sound regulation and close monitoring of intermediaries'exposure to, inter alia, interest rate and liquidity risks. this is true not only for banks but also for non - bank financial institutions, which neither benefit from a comparable regulatory and supervisory framework nor have access to central bank emergency liquidity assistance. the response to short - term developments should not come at the expense of the attention to longer - term issues. because of compounded crises, many developing countries are facing setbacks in fighting extreme poverty and achieving shared prosperity. learning losses, insufficient physical and digital investments, subdued productivity growth, and weak institutions are all constraints on output growth, contributing to debt vulnerabilities. the wbg is the key development partner to low - and middle - income countries. over the last years, it has supported the immediate needs of the most vulnerable – badly hit by covid - 19, and the energy and food crises – while maintaining focus on long - term development goals. now it must further integrate global challenges – like climate change, pandemics, fragility, and conflict – into its core development agenda to eradicate extreme