with many of their asia pacific headquarters based here. so, we are uniquely placed to serve as the testing ground for the alliance by connecting banks in the region to their global peers to facilitate sharing and learning. we are confident that the experience gained in asia will provide useful insight and reference for the ifc to promote green banking in other parts of the world. 10. equally important, by helping banks build their capacity, the alliance will complement the efforts of banking regulators across jurisdictions to enhance the banking sector ’ s management of climate - related risks and promote sustainable banking. participating banks will benefit greatly from the ifc ’ s wealth of knowledge and expertise in the field of green finance. the learning and sharing among peers will also encourage cross - fertilisation of ideas, identification of best practices, and collaboration in green investments. 12. the alliance is a new initiative for both the hkma and the ifc. today marks the first step of an exciting journey. very soon we will reach out to stakeholders to join us in this most meaningful project. 13. thank you. 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches

eddie yue : managing climate risks in hong kong opening remarks by mr eddie yue, chief executive of the hong kong monetary authority, at the signing ceremony of the hkma - ifc alliance for green commercial banks, hong kong, 9 november 2020. * * * vivek [ pathak, director, east asia & the pacific, international finance corporation ], ladies and gentlemen, 1. good morning. it gives me great pleasure to join you today and witness the signing of the cooperation agreement between the hong kong monetary authority and the international finance corporation to establish the alliance for green commercial banks. 2. the hkma has long cherished our close partnership with the ifc, especially since the setting up of its east asia and pacific regional office in hong kong in 2000. today we are taking that partnership to a higher level, for a broader common purpose. we feel privileged to be invited by the ifc to serve as the founding member and first regional anchor to co - launch an alliance that aims to promote green banking in the global financial market, starting with asia with a view to expanding to other regions. it is a strong recognition of hong kong ’ s status as the premiere financial centre in asia and our strong commitment to green finance. 3. climate risk is one of the biggest threats to our planet and future generations. a lot has been said about the need and urgency for the financial sector to play its part in tackling this risk. the question of “ whether ” is behind us. we need to walk the talk and address the question of “ how ”. 4. let me begin with the concrete actions we at the hkma are taking. our action plan is guided by the green and sustainable banking initiative unveiled in may 2019. we have been making significant progress since then. 5. as one of the largest reserves managers globally, we embrace responsible investing. esg principles are now an integral part of our investment criteria, processes, and asset allocation. 6. as a banking regulator, we are working together with banks to manage climate risk. being a good corporate citizen is important, but for banks there is the added dimension of managing the climate - related physical risk and transition risk associated with the projects and businesses they are funding. we have already developed a common assessment framework to help banks to assess their individual “ greenness baseline ”. in june this year, we issued a white paper that sets out our initial thoughts on the supervisory approach to addressing climate - related and sustainability issues. this will pave