green finance. moving forward, the push for disclosure through the establishment of a national framework for carbon emissions reporting is another critical enabler to increase data availability and transparency for a systematic transition to a low - carbon economy. this will contribute towards the development of more data driven climate policies and targeted carbon emissions reduction schemes. second, the role of finance. we have spoken about the critical need to bring in private capital for green investment. the bank, as a financial regulator, recognises this key role of finance and has introduced various measures towards this end. given physical, transition and liability risks and their implication to the economy and financial system, there is a bona fide recognition that climate risk is well within our mandate of safeguarding monetary and financial stability. with that, the bank has taken a phased and proactive approach in strengthening financial system resilience to climate risk and in driving sustainable finance. in this connection, guidance for financial institutions to classify economic activities that contribute to climate change objectives is provided through our work in developing a principles - based taxonomy. this would be the start to build deeper understanding in climate risk, for financial institutions to better identify, assess and manage the risk. the bank is now working to finalise the climate change and principles - based taxonomy, which is expected for issuance next year. the bank also collaborates with the financial industry to accelerate initiatives to build the required capacity and expertise relating to green and sustainability. through the value - based intermediation community of practitioners ( vbi cop ), various guidance documents have been developed to spur adoption of vbi, which considers the triple bottom line of people, planet and prosperity. in august this year, the value - based intermediation financing and investment impact assessment framework ( vbiaf ) sectoral guides on palm oil, renewable energy and energy efficiency were issued to guide financial institutions in implementing vbiaf on these sectors at a more granular and transactional level. work is also in progress to develop the next vbiaf sectoral guides on manufacturing, oil and gas, infrastructure and construction, targeted for issuance in 2021. furthermore, greater climate disclosure by financial institutions is in the pipeline ; as we are progressing plans to further encourage financial institutions to adopt the tcfd recommendations for climate - related disclosure. this is part of the priorities of the members of the joint committee on climate change over the next 12 months to pave the way for the adoption of disclosure standards by the industry in the immediate future3. this will

of consumers. studies have shown that if borrower income is held constant, loan features do matter to the successful repayment of a loan. so i hope we have learned that misaligned incentives that result in harm to consumers have implications for the economy overall. if we recognize this, then we must also recognize that consumer protections cannot be viewed as an ancillary component of a scheme to regulate for safety and soundness. rather, they are fundamental to the quality of the credit upon which the economy is built. having said that, policymakers must also consider the desirability of a dynamic economy, one in which useful innovations are encouraged and credit is made available to as many consumers as have the ability to benefit from it. the tension between protecting consumers and making credit broadly available is one that is as important in making an individual loan as it is to ensuring the stability of the economy. the key to successful policy formulation is to resist the temptation to regulate the problem of the moment. for example, if, in reaction to the abuses in consumer and mortgage lending over the past few years, we were to focus solely on consumer protection policies, the result could be overly restrictive access to credit, which could threaten future economic growth. on the other hand, if the policy focus is strictly on stabilizing the banking sector without giving due consideration to consumer protection, both consumer and investor confidence will remain weak and we will risk repeating the mistakes of the past. trust in the financial system can be regained only if sufficient consumer protections are in place to give borrowers reason to believe they will be treated fairly. the role of the federal reserve the federal reserve addresses its consumer protection responsibilities in a variety of ways, using its regulatory and supervisory authority as well as its consumer education, research, and outreach capabilities. we take a multifaceted approach to consumer protection, for a couple of reasons. first, our organization is in the unique position of being a central bank as well as a regulator and supervisor for the banking industry. moreover, our experience in this arena has taught us that there is no one solution sufficient to address the information needs and substantive protection of consumers in credit transactions. by offering a broad spectrum of products, services, and activities, we aim to provide consumers with the information necessary to make good financial decisions. for example, based on our belief that clear and well - organized disclosures can help consumers make good choices among financial products, the federal reserve has used its regulatory authority to develop extensive new disclosures for