ignazio visco : awards ceremony for the g20 techsprint on green and sustainable finance welcome remarks mr ignazio visco, governor of the bank of italy, at the awards ceremony for the g20 techsprint on green and sustainable finance, organized by the bank of italy and the bank for international settlements, milan, 25 october 2021. * * * i am delighted to welcome you to this awards ceremony for the second g20 techsprint on green and sustainable finance organized by the bank of italy and the bank for international settlements. i would like to thank benoit cœure, andrew mccormack and the whole team from the singapore bis innovation hub for their invaluable cooperation in all the steps of our techsprint. techsprints are technological competitions designed to spur innovation, collaboration and creative solutions to daunting problems. our g20 techsprint had a very ambitious goal. it was designed to help financial markets in sharpening their assessment and selection tools for channeling funds towards green and sustainable finance, leveraging on the latest technologies. fintech and innovators were summoned to put forward their best solutions. i am very pleased that the improvement in the public health situation, following remarkable progress in the vaccination campaign, allows me to be here in milan to acknowledge the achievements of the 21 brilliant finalist teams who have offered valuable technological contributions in a very special area. indeed, finding ways to foster appropriate green and sustainable finance to invest in the crucial fight against climate change has been one of the key priorities of the italian presidency of the g20 this year. the urgency of acting to stop climate change and of mitigating its consequences is plain to see. the increase in the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events has obvious, and major, social, as well as economic, consequences. central banks and supervisory authorities, international institutions and market participants have therefore been paying significant and increasing attention in recent years to developing a better understanding of the implications of climate change for the financial sector and financial stability. in fact, climate change - related financial risks pose both micro - and macroprudential concerns, but analysis and research are still at an early stage. although there is broad consensus within the scientific community on the trends and causes of climate change, the timing and magnitude of future climate outcomes remain uncertain. this range of possible future physical outcomes arising from climate change is crucial to understanding “ climate risks ” ( or better again, “

those for sahel, horn of africa, and lake chad. we are also confident that the wbg will incorporate a thorough analysis of causes and consequences of migratory pressures in its strategic country diagnostics for these areas. we support the review of ida ’ s voting rights and its guiding principles. the ida executive board must define the scope of the review clearly, to ensure an efficient process. this is a prerequisite for its success. implementing the commitments of the capital package and of ida replenishment will require a renewed effort, particularly because of the difficulties of doing business in those contexts. therefore, it is important to strengthen the wbg institutions ’ accountability mechanisms to maximize development impact. we are cognizant that scaling up these commitments requires adequate budgetary resources. nonetheless, to preserve the recently achieved financial sustainability of all the wbg institutions, operational efficiency must be enhanced. this includes a balanced business model of presence in the field. solid income generation is critical if the wbg is to bear future needs.