by a sense of moral outrage directed at others : co - decisionmakers, lenders, the wider political and economic system. though, deep down, they know their legal obligations will likely catch up with them sooner or later, they choose to wait - andsee. • management of multiple debts. accumulating arrears on credit - card and utility debts, for example, can impose immediate costs in higher interest or in having the utilities cut - off. non - mortgage debt will often be prioritised as a temporary coping strategy. repossession of one ’ s home can seem a remote risk in the face of more immediately pressing financial issues resulting again in wait - and - see behaviour on mortgage debt in order to pay bills or service other debts. • consumption - smoothing. micro - economics text - books generally explain household borrowing and saving behaviour as a strategy for life - time consumption - smoothing. no reader of such texts should be surprised to see households seeking to manage an income - shock by borrowing from the cheapest source. it can appear to households that, for a time, accumulation of mortgage arrears is the cheapest form of borrowing, in the hope that the income shock might prove transitory. given the passivity of irish banks, such households can be tempted to postpone adjustments to their consumption pattern ; to wait - and - see. but, for good reasons, mortgage contracts do not contain “ wait - and see ” clauses. “ wait - andsee ” erodes the remaining life - time resources of the household available to service long - term debt, it heightens aggregate economic uncertainty, and can have spillover effects on the behaviour of others, ultimately undermining the functioning of the economic and financial system. the scale to which the unresolved arrears situation has grown in ireland reflects the absence of immediate consequences for non - payment. this lack of consequences has created a degree of moral hazard. taken into account, there is no evidence of a marked change in arrears behaviour when a borrower moves into a negative equity position. even in the us, and in the states where it is impossible for the lender to pursue a defaulting mortgage holder for the deficiency after sale of the collateral, the vast majority of borrowers ( over 80 per cent ) tell surveys that they regard not paying debts when one can afford to do so as morally wrong. nevertheless ( according to research carried out at the us federal reserve ) the existence of negative equity greatly

phasing out coal in asia is hugely challenging. first, the scale : coal accounts for nearly 60 % of power generation in the region. asia's energy demand is projected to increase by two - and - a - half times by 2050, on the back of economic development, population growth, and urbanisation. second, the jobs : the coal economy is a key source of employment in asia. according to estimates by the international energy agency, more than 80 % of the 8. 4 million employed globally across the coal value chain is concentrated in asia. third, the age : asia's coal plants are young, less than 15 years old on average. this makes the economics of phasing out coal more challenging, especially as new coal plants continue to be built to keep pace with energy demand. we need an energy strategy that will phase out coal in a progressive manner, switch to cleaner transition fuels like natural gas, and accelerate investments in renewable energy. specifically, we need a coherent strategy for the managed phaseout of coal by encouraging owners to wind down their coal plants ahead of their technical end of life. the strategy rests on three key success factors : credibility viability justness to be credible, phase - out plans must be aligned with science - based 1. 5 degree celsius pathways. standard setters and international experts like the international energy agency have a key role in setting out these pathways. we also need specifics, such as metrics to measure positive climate impact and interim milestones to indicate that the phase - out is on track. we also need safeguards to minimise leakage, namely the risk that other coal plants or new coal plants are used to replace the energy that the retired coal plant used to generate. some good work is being done to help shape credible phase - out plans for coal through expert guidance and taxonomies. the gfanz asia pacific network has launched a consultation on draft guidance on the managed phase out of coal plants. this guidance can help align how financial institutions can collectively drive a credible, impactful, and inclusive phase - out. 2 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches the asean and singapore - asia taxonomies provide clarity on how coal - related activities will be classified. these can serve additional reference points for financial institutions to assess whether the coal plants are on track to be phasedout. mas has been deeply involved in both the gfanz guidance work and the taxonomy work. second success factor : the managed phase -