of climate change and actions to mitigate them also pose risks for both insurance companies and banks. it is well known that the climate change - related risks may be divided into two categories : physical and transition risks. this requires banks to consider climate change - related risks and the transition to a low - carbon economy in their integrated risk management. one of our panelists, mr. sean kidney, co - founder and ceo of climate bonds initiative, will be able to give us an overview of the evolution and prospects of green financing instruments, in particular green bonds. meanwhile, ms. danae kyriakopoulou, omfif´s8 chief economist and director of research, will give us her insight into this adaptation by the financial sector to the challenges posed by climate change risks. thank you for your participation in today´s panel. as regards international collaboration in the field of sustainable finance, i believe both the paris agreement and the 2030 agenda for sustainable development acted as a wake - up call for supervisors and central banks to join forces, setting in motion a whole agenda of policies intended to contribute to the objective of avoiding this increase above 2oc. in this short period of time, many initiatives, both from the official and private sectors, are being undertaken. let me cite a few examples, - the task force on climate - related financial disclosures, created at the request of the financial stability board but comprising in its entirety members of the industry. this task force has produced voluntary disclosure standards for companies in general, which are becoming more and more relevant, as investors, consumers and corporates demand sustainability - related information to make informed decisions. - the european commission action plan on financing sustainable growth, which should contribute to making the eu a leading force in the global fight against climate change. - the international platform on sustainable finance. - the coalition of finance ministers for climate action, which comprises governments from more than twenty countries joining forces to address the challenges posed by climate change. we are also honoured to have with us ms. ana de la cueva, secretary of state for economic & business affairs, who will close this conference and inform us about this initiative. - last, but certainly not least, i want to mention the network of central banks and supervisors for greening the financial system ( ngfs ), created two years ago as a “ coalition of the willing ” and a voluntary - based forum. the ngfs has grown from 8 members to over 50 since 2017, which is a clear sign of

the proper functioning of the multilateral surveillance and control procedures of the current rules. such rules should be accepted by all the member states as the sole means of maintaining the effectiveness and credibility of the regulatory framework. in any event, the upturn in activity that the european economy appears to have embarked upon should prove conducive to pushing through national governments ’ reform plans and to strengthening the fiscal commitments currently in place. that said, there are some uncertainties in the current situation, namely geopolitical instability, the rise in oil prices and the global macroeconomic imbalances which, naturally, affect the outlook for the euro area economy. despite such uncertainties, the european economy should post notably higher growth this year than last, on the basis of expanding export markets and a gradual recovery in internal demand. at the same time, the momentous step taken in european construction with eu enlargement should be an additional incentive for seeing through the economic and institutional reforms needed to revitalise european growth. the spanish economy addressing the behaviour of the spanish economy in 2003 and in 2004 to data, i should begin by pointing out that our economy has, once again, managed to improve on the trajectory followed by the euro area. internal demand in particular has continued to respond to the expansionary impulses provided by monetary conditions that have remained very generous for spain ’ s domestic situation. the more disciplined application of other economic policies and a more flexible reaction on the supply side of the economy, in line with the structural reforms undertaken, have helped maintain a setting favourable to the progressive strengthening of activity. this confrms that the slowdown which touched bottom in may 2002 has been put behind. the growth differential with the euro area widened to almost two percentage points and held at around this level in 2004 q1. as a result, real convergence continued apace last year and spanish per capita gdp vis - a - vis the former eu - 15 stood at 87. 4 %, one point up on 2002. relative to the enlarged 25 - member eu, this percentage rises to 94. 4 %, due to the lower level of development of the new members. the buoyancy of the economy in 2003 and in early 2004 continued to be underpinned by the same foundations as in previous years, following a similar pattern. firstly, as earlier mentioned, highly favourable financing conditions have remained in place. these have been characterised by low interest rates ( which were cut further to historical lows ), high rates of credit expansion