central banks should definitely be a part of this optimal policy mix as well. here, it is useful to distinguish between central banks'monetary policy operations and those other operations not related to our monetary policy mandates. i will start with the latter, if only because it is easier to draw some conclusions in this case. central banks can – and probably should – use our non - monetary policy portfolios as a tool for addressing climate change. actually, the banco de espana has led by example in recent years in adopting these considerations. since 2019, we have applied sustainability and responsibility investment principles to our non - monetary policy portfolios, which has effectively led to an increase in the share of green bonds in these portfolios. this is just one example of the kind of measures conducive to the greening of our economies that central banks can adopt. but surely more can be done in the realm of non - monetary policy operations. there was an important step in this direction last february, when the eurosystem agreed on a common stance for climate change - related sustainable and responsible investment principles for euro - denominated non - monetary policy portfolios, with the aim of promoting disclosures and a sounder understanding of climate - related risks. following this agreement, the eurosystem aims to start climate - related disclosures for non - monetary policy portfolios within two years. as regards our monetary policy operations, in my view, any action in this area should be based on our price stability objective, which is the single primary mandate bestowed on the ecb by the union's treaties. but be no mistaken by this relatively narrow scope, there is plenty of room for climate action within this remit. in this regard, given that more analysis is needed before we have better answers for the implications of climate change on the economy and on monetary policy, our first objective should be to step up our efforts, as both the banco de espana and the eurosystem are doing, to develop the tools and models needed for such an analysis. in addition, fully incorporating climate risks into our internal risk management may well collaborate to expand our ability to deliver on our price stability mandate. climate change will indeed affect the risks of the assets held on our balance sheets. monetary policy implementation exposes us to such risks directly through holdings of assets and indirectly through collateral pledged by counterparties. therefore, and very much related to my previous comments on the implications of climate change for the financial sector, we should take due consideration to the

down 2 - 1 / 2 percentage points, to 7. 5 percent in april. the increase in economic activity and the decline in the unemployment rate are, of course, welcome, but we still have a long way to go to reach what feels like a healthy economy. in fact, the pace of recovery has been slower than most had expected. the gap between actual output and the economy's potential remains quite large, according to estimates from the congressional budget office, and the unemployment rate today remains well above levels seen prior to the recession, and well above the level that the committee thinks can be sustained once a full recovery has been achieved. in addition, the number of long - term unemployed – people who have been unemployed for 27 weeks or more – remains historically high. my interpretation of the economic data that we have received over the past few quarters is that the recovery has continued to gain traction. the bureau of economic analysis reported last month that real gross domestic product ( gdp ) rose at an annual rate of 2 - 1 / 2 percent in the first quarter of this year after barely expanding at all in the fourth quarter of 2012. the step - up in growth in the first quarter partly reflected a rebound from last year's drought and hurricane sandy. smoothing through these factors, real gdp was about 1 - 3 / 4 percent above bis central bankers ’ speeches its year - earlier level in the first quarter, a modest gain that is about in line with the pace of growth during much of the recovery. the strength of the recovery among the components of gdp has been mixed recently. in terms of the housing sector, there is no question that many communities and neighborhoods were devastated by the effects of the financial crisis. recently, we see that overall demand has been strengthening, with both home sales and prices rising markedly in many areas. both new and existing home sales have moved up, on net, since late 2011, and housing starts averaged an annual rate of nearly 1 million units in the first quarter of this year, up considerably from the extremely low levels that prevailed through 2011. inventories of new homes for sale have become quite lean in most markets over the past year, a notable change from earlier in the recovery. the increase in activity in the housing sector has been driven by historically low mortgage rates, growing optimism about future house prices, continued gains in the job market, and sizable purchases of homes by investors. elsewhere in the household sector, consumer spending – about two - thirds of overall final demand – has continued