of our financial system, challenged by climate change and the transition towards a sustainable economy. in addition to implementation of the climate strategy, we will continue on the path towards modernization and digitalization of the market and payment systems, aimed at promoting financial inclusion and the use of electronic payments in the albanian economy, in turn contributing to green finance. these initiatives will also simultaneously serve as an impetus in our efforts towards collecting sufficient data and building empirical models, as well as enhancing the awareness on climate - related risks within our financial ecosystem. 2 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches the bank of albania is determined to fulfil its mission to guide advancement towards green finance, increase public awareness and contribute to sustainable development. our effort includes integration of the latest innovations and best practices, accompanied by harmonization of our regulatory framework with the eu legislation ( acquis ) on sustainable finance. dear participants, central banks, international and national institutions are continuously improving their analytical and empirical expertise in these key areas. supporting green finance policies is a fundamental principle of our commitment to a more sustainable and prosperous future. this is not a journey that an institution or even a nation can make alone. it requires cooperation and coordination on a global scale. i thank each of you for joining us in this vital effort. also, on behalf of the bank of albania, i would like to express my gratitude to the albanian government for its continuous support and commitment in addressing these critical issues. our actions today shape the world for generations to come and strengthen the resilience of our economic and financial systems. i hope that during the proceedings of this forum, the most productive and fruitful discussions will take place, which stimulate the most creative thoughts and solutions to the climate challenges that our system faces. thank you! 3 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches

that had not been seen before or been equalled since. but we should remember that the australian economy did not keep up with the rest of the world during this period : the growth in gdp per capita was lower than the oecd average in the 1950s and 60s. we also tend to underestimate just how poor we were compared with what we take for granted now. much of the post - war housing expansion into the newer suburbs involved building two - bedroom - onebathroom houses with external toilets : sealed roads, sewerage and telephones came years later. there are many other examples of the difference in living standards i could quote. the present by the present i mean the economic expansion over the past decade which we are currently still experiencing. fortunately we do not view the 1970s and 1980s with much nostalgia, so most people are willing to accept that the current expansion represents an improvement compared with those earlier decades. this can be seen in that : ( a ) the current expansion is longer. so far it has lasted for 41 quarters compared with 31 and 28 respectively for the expansions in the 1970s and 1980s. ( b ) our rate of growth of productivity has picked up compared with earlier decades. we are one of a very small group ( about 5 ) of oecd countries to have achieved this. ( c ) we have weathered two quite large contractionary external shocks without significant adverse effects. i am referring here to the asian crisis of 1997 / 98 and the world slowdown / recession of 2001. ( d ) there is evidence to suggest that some economic distortions that seemed to be entrenched have been removed or at least improved. the most obvious of these is the reduction in inflation from the very high rates of the 1970s and the quite high rates of the 1980s. indeed, if we had not succeeded in regaining low inflation in the 1990s, we would have had no hope of achieving the long economic expansion we have had. there has also been some success on the balance of payments. it is now clear that the pronounced deterioration in the external accounts occurred during the 1970s, reached a plateau from the early 1980s to the present, and may have shown its first, although tentative sign of improvement over the past few years. there is also evidence that progress is finally being made on unemployment, a subject i would like to cover in a little more detail. there were international recessions in the early 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. we have also just been through one in the early 2000s, although economists