for some time now, supervisory action in europe has been pursuing three priorities : ( i ) integrating esg risks into the regulatory and supervisory framework, by means of sensitivity analyses and stress test climate risk scenarios ; ( ii ) improving data availability, public disclosure of relevant metrics by reporting entities, and transparency on risks arising from climate change ; and ( iii ) discussing options for how insurers could address the protection gap issue in the context of climate change and contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation. surveys conducted by ivass on the italian insurance system in 2020 and 2021 highlighted, among other things, that ( i ) the esg criteria adopted by the insurers were as heterogeneous as those prevailing elsewhere, and that ( ii ) coverage of climate risks is marginal. this suggest that both the threat and the opportunities i just mentioned still need to be tackled. starting in 2022, these surveys will be conducted on an annual basis. it will be, among other things, a way to increase awareness in the industry. finally, ivass is part of an eiopa pilot project, supported by the european commission, aimed at identifying the main areas of climate risk and the critical factors in the insurance protection gap ; this gap extends to many eu countries, albeit to varying degrees. italy is exposed to natural disasters more than many other countries, yet the degree of insurance coverage is comparatively low. a larger role for the insurance sector, within an enhanced framework for cooperation between the public and private sector, may be useful. many technical and political aspects, however, need to be carefully considered. initiatives such as today ’ s conference, where our planet features prominently in the headline, are a good starting point for such a conversation. 5 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches

securities, which will continue for an extended period of time. should the macroeconomic conditions require it, the council stands ready to utilize all the instruments at its disposal to ensure, with the support of aggregate demand, the rapid readjustment of inflation towards the price stability objective. to reap in full the benefits of the expansionary conditions fostered by monetary policy requires the contribution of reforms to reduce the structural weaknesses of our economy, which magnify cyclical difficulties. decisive progress must be made in promoting a more business and innovation - friendly environment, encouraging labour market participation, raising the quality of human capital and improving the efficiency of public services. since 1999, italy ’ s annual average growth has been 1 percentage point below that of the euro area. in the absence of consistent structural progress, what at international level are cyclical slowdowns tend to be transformed here in italy into stagnation and a decline in productive activity. the wellbeing of households depends on numerous factors but the capacity of the economy to grow is vital. public investment can support it, in tandem with private investment, if rapidly and efficiently executed in the context of a gradual rebalancing of the public finances. above all, however, interventions to strengthen and modernize the productive structure, to render it more dynamic and capable of creating additional job opportunities, must continue to play a central role in italian economic policy. even if, as with past initiatives, they will take time to bear fruit, their implementation can immediately support firms and households ’ confidence and, in this way, their propensity to invest and consume. financial intermediaries the improvement of credit quality in italy, under way since mid - 2015, continued in 2018. in the third quarter the non - performing loan rate decreased to 1. 7 per cent, in line with the figures prevailing before the global financial crisis. for business lending, the decline came to a halt in the closing months of 2018 with the onset of the cyclical downturn. in the first nine months of 2018, also following a considerable number of disposals, the stock of non - performing loans ( npls ) decreased from €259 billion to €216 billion gross of loan loss provisions, and from €129 billion to €99 billion net of them. the npl ratio declined from 6. 1 to 4. 8 per cent in net terms ; the coverage ratio rose by almost 4 percentage points, to 54 per cent. for the significant groups, the reduction