historically large fiscal deficits and a very large debt level. without a dramatic change, the deficit and the debt will only become more daunting with the rising cost of entitlement programs and likely higher interest rates. for well over a decade, the u. s. consumer has been a principal source of world demand and economic growth. as a result, the united states has incurred consistently large trade deficits, contributing to imbalances in the global economy. as we have painfully learned from the housing bust, growth built on imbalances is ultimately unsustainable. circumstances require, therefore, that we transition from an economy that relies too heavily on consumption and government spending for growth toward more sustainable sources of bis central bankers ’ speeches demand and economic prosperity. how we undertake this transition will define our economy and country ’ s economic future. to start, over the next several years, we must change our national savings, consumption and investment habits. such shifts, though fundamental to long - term economic health, are admittedly difficult to accomplish. they require changes in behavior and expectations. they involve dramatic shifts in resource use, which are not painless as workers are temporarily displaced and industries are disrupted. the pain is immediate, and the payoff comes slowly. however, the gains also can be significant, as more sustainable long - run economic growth is well worth the effort and sacrifice. in a recent visit to singapore, i witnessed that nation ’ s commitment to job creation. for example, during the recent crisis and recession, singapore developed a program to retrain unemployed workers to ensure they would have the skills needed when its manufacturing sector recovered. as is well understood, workforce training matters. i spoke with individuals who described the drive to bring new factories on - line, with the goal of bringing a factory online with minimal delays and, by their description, without compromising safety. lessons from germany other countries have made similar changes out of necessity or during a time of economic distress such as we are experiencing today. countries have made deliberate choices and not relied on chance to change economic incentives and behavior that served to improve economic performance. i ’ m not advocating that we pick winners and losers – in fact, that is my biggest argument against too - big - to - fail financial institutions. rather, i have observed a number of countries that are building and expanding their manufacturing bases – such as korea, singapore and china – that have been able to experience strong gdp growth over long periods of time. germany offers another example

primoz dolenc : green finance and investment opening speech by mr primoz dolenc, vice governor of bank of slovenia, at the conference " towards the climate transition : green finance and investment ", split, 29 september 2023. * * * ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, it is a distinct privilege to welcome all of you to this conference, where we aim to address a pressing global challenge : climate change and its profound impact on our economies. in the face of climate risks, we all bear a personal responsibility to contribute to solutions. each of us can play a role in safeguarding the health of our planet. however, the broader task of addressing climate change, particularly at the national and international levels, falls squarely within the purview of governments and specialized institutions. among them, central banks play a pivotal role. climate change is already affecting our economies and financial systems, consequently, the price and financial stability that lie at the core of our mandates. in recent years, the eurosystem central banks have translated our commitments into concrete actions by adopting a roadmap for climate - related initiatives. in the area of monetary policy, we have initiated the analysis of climate - related factors in our macroeconomic models. we have also begun to integrate them into the implementation of our monetary policy, including our collateral framework and corporate asset purchases. in terms of our non - monetary investments, we proudly published our inaugural report containing detailed climate - related information about our entire financial assets. this report underscores our significant progress over the last five years, notably in divesting from firms in the tobacco and arms industries and those causing substantial environmental harm. to reach our long - tem objective of approaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions of our financial assets by 2050, we have set two medium - term goals to be achieved by the end of 2025. firstly, we intend to increase investments in green, social, and sustainable bonds from the current nearly 7 % to 10 % of our financial assets. secondly, we are committed to visibly reducing the carbon footprint of our investments in private sector issuers. we have already commenced measuring and reporting carbon footprints, along with other indicators of socially responsible and sustainable investing. in terms of banking supervision, central banks have a crucial role in establishing uniform standards for addressing climate - related risks by adapting banking regulations and supervisory frameworks. our activities encompass the measurement, assessment, 1 / 2 bis - central bankers'speeches management, and disclosure of climate