baseline of expectations for insurers to start and progress from, and provides a practical framework to help insurers address climate change risks in their business and assist in developing their governance and risk management frameworks. more recently, the central bank undertook research into the nature and scale of the flood protection gap in ireland, taking into consideration both the picture today and how that picture might change in future. in our analysis, we identified how many homes and businesses in ireland are unlikely to obtain flood cover. some key findings : approximately 1 in 20 buildings have difficulty accessing flood insurance today. the estimated average annual cost of inland flooding is €101m. severe losses can be much higher than this, with a €510m loss expected about once every 25 years. ireland is likely to see significantly more rainfall in the future due to climate change, increasing the likelihood of flood events and potentially widening the gap. we hope that this analysis helps to inform the debate on the flood protection gap in ireland, and recognise that addressing this issue requires work from a broad range of stakeholders. and we look forward to further engagement with stakeholders over the coming months on this important topic and we will continue to play our part in identifying and managing the risks arising from the consequences of climate change. i think it also goes without saying that this work highlights the multifaceted impacts of climate change as they relate to our mandate. it secondly highlights the necessary engagement amongst a broad spectrum of stakeholders to address climate related issues. and it also makes clear that while climate driven protection gaps are one part of the equation, equally there is a need to also ensure investment in sustainable activities – with a whole balance sheet approach needed by the sector, to mirror the whole of economy approach needed by policymakers. to briefly return to today's event, addressing the climate challenge will never be achieved with the un or the central bank operating in isolation. the financial system has a key leadership role in facilitating the flow of capital to sustainable activities and addressing the risks arising from climate changes, and we all need to be part of the conversation. this why the convening powers of our two organisations is so important and it is great to see the varied stakeholders coming together for today's summit – and indeed through the rest of the week's events. once again we are delighted to host you today, and let me hand back to you butch for your opening remarks. 3 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches 1 with thanks to philip brennan and cian

current outlook, the fomc in its statement noted that we now anticipate that we are likely to keep short - term interest rates exceptionally low at least through mid - 2013. we also discussed the range of policy tools available to promote a stronger economic recovery in a context of price stability. further details on the discussion at the meeting will be available when the minutes are published in three weeks time. i will not comment on monetary policy any further today. following the release of the fomc ’ s statement, market interest rates generally moved lower, which should help provide some additional support for economic activity and jobs. i would note, however, that conditions remain unsettled and the equity market in particular remains very volatile. bis central bankers ’ speeches regional economic conditions turning to our region, the economic recovery continues to be slow, although much of the region is performing reasonably well compared with the nation as a whole. to frame our current situation, let me put this recession and recovery in the context of previous cycles. while this recession lasted longest, caused the deepest job losses, and has shown the slowest employment recovery of any post - war recession for the united states, it has not been the worst on record for the region. new york state sustained fewer severe job losses than the nation during the recent recession – a reversal of historical patterns. upstate new york, which has struggled with sluggish economic growth in recent decades, has proven particularly stable. in fact, while job losses were quite severe during previous recessions, that was not the case this time around. similarly, new york city ’ s job losses were more moderate than in previous recessions. new jersey, on the other hand, saw steeper jobs losses than new york and a more tepid recovery. puerto rico endured a serious downturn lasting for over five years and is now just beginning to show signs of stabilization. why was the downturn in our region less severe than in many other parts of the country? part of the reason is that the effects of the housing boom and bust on the region ’ s economy were less consequential. of course, we have seen declines in construction employment, losses of housing equity and people losing their homes. however, as in most mature regions, the housing market tends to be less influential here than it is in parts of the country where population growth has been more rapid. this is particularly true across much of upstate new york, which experienced little in the way of a construction boom, home