raising the bar on climate ambition : road to cop 26 remarks by ignazio visco governor of the bank of italy asian development bank – 54th annual meeting of the board of governors virtual event, 4 may 2021 • climate change and the pandemic are the most important global problems of our times. the two phenomena are related, as many of the root causes of climate change, such as deforestation and the loss of habitat, by increasing the chance of contact between people and wildlife, also amplify the risk of new pandemics. • arresting climate change requires achieving net - zero greenhouse gas emissions at a global scale by mid - century. it is an urgent task : acting later can be extremely costly and may turn out to be ineffective. but shifting economic development towards a sustainable path is a difficult process and all human activities have to facilitate it. a successful transition requires, therefore, strong global cooperation. • this transformation is more demanding for emerging and developing economies, characterised by an increasing thirst for energy driven by industrialisation and rising consumption. many of them are still heavily reliant on coal to produce energy. in addition, they still need to provide energy access to almost one billion people living without electricity – a daunting task to undertake while at the same time decarbonising the economy. • the current economic recovery provides a one - time chance to foster the necessary changes. as the g20 finance ministers and central bank governors recently recognised, we need to shape the recovery by investing in innovative technologies and promoting just transitions toward more sustainable economies and societies. • in this perspective, multilateral development banks can provide a key contribution. since 2017, they have been granting developing countries almost 200 billion dollars per year, partly going to climate mitigation and adaptation projects. within the g20 sustainable finance working group, a work stream has been created to enhance the alignment of this contribution with the goals of the paris agreement. • sharing best practices for classifying and monitoring sustainable investments will help to identify how they can effectively catalyse private resources and support climate finance. indeed, most investment will necessarily be privately financed, and this will require putting in place adequate institutional and regulatory frameworks, as well as appropriate and predictable carbon prices. • multilateral development banks can also play a pivotal role in further expanding the use of debt - for - nature swaps. these can improve biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services, while increasing carbon dioxide natural removals, which are strongly needed to achieve net -

, we have read of how “ big ” institutions have been brought down due to unprofessional conduct by their senior executives. i urge investrust bank plc to pro - actively propagate corporate governance standards at all levels of management. i commend the bank for the newly created dedicated function of risk management in its structure. this will provide prudential guidance in the other areas of operations. i also commend the bank for adopting a “ whistle - blowing ” policy to help ensure professional conduct is adhered to at all times. these measures, mr managing director will work to your own bank ’ s benefit. the bank of zambia stands ready to assist in any way in your quest for best practice. 4. lending rates on the banking front, we have witnessed bank lending rates follow the downward trend. mr managing director, these are positive indicators. i am aware that the perennial complaint from our local business houses has been the prohibitive interest rates charged by banks on credit facilities. there is need to continue work on reducing lending rates further as the current levels are still unbearable by most of our upcoming entrepreneurs. in certain fora, mr managing director, the borrowing culture of zambians has been heavily criticized. it is said that zambians borrow with no intention of paying back. it is one of the reasons the bank of zambia is taking seriously the matter of the credit reference bureau being operational as soon as possible. the bank of zambia is keen to ensure this negative perception is eradicated. 5. banking services to the unbanked mr managing director, late last year bank of zambia launched the findings of the fiscope survey, a survey which revealed that 68 % of zambian have no access to banking services. i am glad that, true to private sector entrepreneurial spirit, you have opened a branch in luangwa where there was no bank representation from pre - independence days. in spite of the not - so reliable electricity supply to the area and the not – so good road to luangwa, you did not see these as impediments to bringing banking services to luangwa but rather you have looked at them as challenges to be overcome. mr managing director, the step taken by your bank is to be lauded. i take this opportunity to appeal to the entire management to take the findings of the finscope survey as a serious challenge to the banking industry to reduce the percentage of the unbanked population. 6. planned move to the listed tier of lu