sabine mauderer : keynote speech - f20 climate solutions week keynote speech by dr sabine mauderer, member of the executive board of the deutsche bundesbank, at the f20 climate solutions week, frankfurt am main, 15 september 2020. * * * ladies and gentlemen, we are going through challenging times. the covid - 19 pandemic has caused disruptions to our societies and our economies. while the loss of economic wealth is enormous, some countries with stronger social systems and better healthcare infrastructures have been more resilient than others. but every crisis is also an opportunity. so what can we learn from the pandemic? and what are the lessons for the even bigger challenge of climate change? the answer is easy. just like the pandemic, climate change is a global systemic threat many scientists have been flagging for decades. and just like the pandemic, climate change will cause enormous costs for our economies and our societies. so it is not a question of if but how we have to act. here are my three core messages on how to act. they are closely interlinked. first, we need an adequate carbon pricing system. the idea is to incentivise producers and consumers to change their behaviour and to encourage more climate - neutral alternatives. second, we have to raise broad awareness – across the g20 – that we can only combat climate change if the real economies undergo transformation. both the private and public sectors need to fulfil their roles as agents of change. more public and private money needs to flow into research and development, fostering climate - friendly innovation. this will help us master the necessary transformation in the real economy. transformation is a precondition for resilience, and resilience is the key to economic survival. my third and final message goes out to financial institutions : be a real driver of the economic transformation! if and when capital flows more strongly into climate - friendly economic activities, the financial system can play a pivotal role in changing the real economy. this is the spirit of the paris agreement. and to achieve the goals of the paris agreement, financial institutions need better data to assess the financial risks related to climate change. central banks can serve as catalysts here, by fostering international disclosure and standardisation of data. we need to leverage our capacities as monetary policymakers, banking supervisors and guardians of financial stability. ladies and gentlemen, let me stop here and briefly conclude : first, we need an

the bundesbank and deutsche borse ag have jointly unveiled a prototype for a securities settlement system based on blockchain technology. the idea behind this joint project is to analyse the technological performance and scalability of blockchain - based applications. it is not the intention to issue a digital euro coin. new technologies may also represent a source of financial stability risk. herding behaviour, for example, could be amplified by automated advisory services in portfolio management. robo advisors might exacerbate financial volatility and pro - cyclicality if the assets under management reach a significant level, which is not yet the case. pro - cyclicality might result from weaker customer relationships and the interoperability of access points. this calls for the regulation of fintechs, at least to a certain extent. a lot of corporations using technology - enabled financial innovations operate either on a global scale or carry out a large number of cross - border transactions. identifying key regulatory issues to safeguard financial stability is therefore a goal that the german presidency is aiming at in cooperation with the financial stability board and other standard setting bodies. another pressing issue in a digitised world is cybercrime. cyber - attacks can potentially undermine peoples ’ trust in the financial system. in order to avoid jeopardising the positive impact of digital finance, it will be crucial to address these cyber risks. it is therefore on the badenbaden agenda to start work in this area at the g20 level. 3 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches a further implication of digitalisation, which was already an important topic at the g20 digitalisation conference in wiesbaden, in january, is financial literacy. it is an indisputable benefit that new technological developments have enabled the financial inclusion of people who would otherwise lack access to financial services – for example, there are five countries in sub - saharan africa where more people have a mobile money account than a conventional bank account. that said, more and more people with insufficient knowledge and understanding of financial concepts and risks are getting easier access to financial services. and this is true not only for developing countries but for industrialised countries, too. if it becomes easier for people to become their own “ fund manager ", so to speak, they should at least have basic knowledge of economic concepts like compound interest. therefore, financial literacy is not just an issue for consumer protection authorities, but also for schools and the financial industry as well. for central banks, financial education is an issue,