so frequently, meaning they are cheaper to produce. third, polymer banknotes repel dirt and moisture better than paper banknotes, and so stay cleaner for longer, reducing the incidence of ‘ tatty ’ notes. finally, polymer banknotes are more environmentally friendly than paper notes. given these benefits, we are confident that a switch to printing notes on polymer makes sense. but we also recognise that the public takes pride in their banknotes, and that changes to the design and format of notes are consequently of great interest. because of this, we have decided to consult with the public before making any final decisions. between now and the 15 november, the bank will therefore be running a consultation programme that will provide the public with a greater familiarity with polymer banknotes. the consultation will, in turn, provide us with a better understanding of the public ’ s views on the proposed change and whether such a change would meet with broad public acceptance. bis central bankers ’ speeches we will be holding around 50 events across the uk to enable the public to see and feel examples of polymer notes, and to deliver feedback to the bank. we will hold events in 13 major shopping centres to allow shoppers to see and handle specimen notes. and we will be running over 30 discussion events with audiences including regional chambers of commerce and retailers. a market research company will separately be conducting another 36 focus groups and carrying out a face - to - face survey with 2, 000 people to collect further feedback. we will also publish a range of useful material on our website including a facility for the public to provide feedback directly to us. and there will be a specific display about polymer in the bank ’ s museum for anyone visiting london who wishes to learn more. in parallel with the public consultation we will conduct further outreach with the cash handling industry, to confirm our understanding of the impact on industry of a switch to polymer. once these exercises are complete, we will analyse the feedback we have received and use it to inform our final decision, which will be announced in december. if a final decision is made to move to polymer, we will also use the opportunity to introduce notes which are somewhat smaller than the current series. these will be easier for both the public and the cash industry to handle and will generate further financial benefits in terms of lower production and storage costs. in moving to smaller notes, we will retain the present tiering of denominations by size, which is of particular benefit to the visually impaired. i would now like to invite any

prospects : the 2015 revision ”. urbanisation growth figures from united nations population fund, www. unfpa. org / urbanization see new climate economy “ infrastructure investment needs of a low carbon scenario ” ( 2014 ), which estimates that there are infrastructure investment needs totalling approximately us $ 90 trillion between 2015 and 2030, in the context of a growing population and increasing urbanisation. it is estimated that adopting a low - carbon pathway increases these costs by 5 %. see unctad “ world investment report ” ( 2014 ), which estimates that this is the annual amount of investment required to meet the sdgs by 2030. bis central bankers ’ speeches we need to build a new system – one that delivers sustainable investment flows, based on both resilient market - based, and robust bank - based, finance. we need finance for the long term. we need a financial system that is f - a - i - r : that is fair, aligned, inclusive and resilient. let me expand briefly on each, beginning with fairness itself. ( i ) fair the twin crises of solvency and legitimacy undermined trust in market mechanisms and the effectiveness of the financial system. banks were undercapitalised, mismanaged and operated in a privileged heads - i - win - tails - you - lose bubble. in parallel, there was widespread rigging of some markets for personal gain. by replacing such implicit privilege with the full discipline of the market, social capital is now being rebuilt and economic dynamism restored. g20 leaders have endorsed a wide range of measures to end too - big - to - fail in banking. the financial stability board 6 is now working on a series of initiatives to make the system more fair and effective, including examining governance and compensation arrangements to ensure they promote good, and punish bad, behaviour. 7 in the uk, authorities are pursuing reforms that will increase individual accountability, particularly in wholesale financial markets. 8 such initiatives are beginning to turn the tide of ethical drift which has plagued the system and would hold back the sdgs if left unchecked. ( ii ) aligned aligning incentives will increase finance ’ s potential to support the sdgs. alignment requires transparency. consider the example of climate change. financial policymakers will not drive the transition to a low - carbon economy. only governments can solve the tragedy of the horizon. 9 financial policymakers can amplify the impacts of those decisions, while ensuring the financial system remains resilient during