egil matsen : us senate democrats ’ special committee on the climate crisis opening remarks by mr egil matsen, deputy governor of norges bank ( central bank of norway ), at the meeting, washington dc, 17 october 2019. * * * chairman schatz, i thank you for inviting norges bank, together with other ngfs - member central banks, to the u. s. senate democrats ’ special committee on the climate crisis. i appreciate the opportunity to discuss climate - related economic and financial risks and relevant central bank strategies to address those risks. norges bank ’ s mission is to promote economic stability by conducting monetary policy and monitoring the financial system. our central bank also has the responsibility for managing norway ’ s swf, the government pension fund global ( gpfg ), in accordance with a mandate issued by the ministry of finance. a feature common to both of these mandated responsibilities is the identification and management of risk. in addressing these risks, we should always work within our mandates. for central banks that means taking a comprehensive view of factors impacting the economy and the risks we face, while upholding market neutrality and preserving our independence. climate risk, the economy and financial stability the scientific basis for climate change is widely accepted. the physical impacts of climate change and measures to mitigate its impact, will affect all parts of the economy and have consequences for the financial system. consequently, climate risk is a relevant consideration for central banks. there is a large degree of uncertainty among market participants about the magnitude and the timing of climate change, and about likely policy responses. this type of uncertainty may be a source of market failure. climate risk is a complex topic covering a broad field of issues being to a large degree outside the remit of central banks. climate change is a global challenge. the prime responsibility and the most effective tools to mitigate climate risk lie with governments and with fiscal policy. it is important to use the market mechanism by pricing emissions to reflect the true costs of greenhouse gas emissions. however, the financial system must adapt to climate risk. central banks and financial supervisory authorities can, within their mandates, promote financial stability by ensuring that financial institutions appropriately includes climate risk in their risk management. climate risk is not fundamentally different from other risks facing the financial sector. other types of risks may also be systemic and characterized by historical data having uncertain relevance for future risks. both financial institutions and authorities must consider how a changing climate will affect financial risks. this must be integrated in

usd202 million were registered. in order to cater to the fx requirements of importers building their stocks ahead of the end - of - year period, the bank intervened on a regular basis since 08 july 2024. a total amount of usd270 million was sold to banks between july and 18 september 2024. the rupee continues to reflect key economic fundamentals of demand and supply, as well as international currency movements. between 11 july and 18 september 2024, the rupee has appreciated by 2. 2 per cent against the us dollar. financial stability i will now share with you key developments on the soundness of the banking and financial system. risks to financial stability have continued to subside, driven mainly by improving macrofinancial conditions. debt sustainability and serviceability metrics have stabilised as household income and corporate earnings grew steadily. the asset quality of banks stayed sound with no signs of debt servicing distress. credit flow by the banking sector to the economy has remained on a steady upward trend since the beginning of the year. bank credit to the private sector grew annually by 7. 6 per cent in july 2024. household credit – a major contributor to the demand for bank credit – expanded at an annual rate of 11. 0 per cent in july 2024. similarly, bank credit to non - financial corporations in mauritius registered a yearly growth of 5. 1 per cent in july 2024. the banking sector maintained its resilience, supported by robust capital and liquidity buffers. the capital adequacy ratio was 20. 9 per cent as at end - june 2024 and the liquidity coverage ratio ( lcr ) improved to 328. 5 per cent in july 2024. the stress test results, based on june 2024 data, showed improved resilience of the banking sector as the number of banks showing vulnerabilities has been declining. the 3 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches banking sector held robust solvency and liquidity buffers to withstand the series of shocks applied under the various scenarios, including in the forward - looking scenarios. the bank continues to monitor risks to the stability of the financial system while ensuring price stability. mpc decision i now come to the decision of the mpc. recent price dynamics confirm that the mauritian economy is firmly engaged on a disinflationary path – helped by some favourable driving forces, notably limited pressures on international commodity prices, normalisation of freight costs and weakerthan - expected pass