The National Bank of Romania has set up an internal structure, the Office of Sustainability and the Green Economy, in order to further explore the implications of climate change in the Romanian banking sector, according to a statement of the institution.
“On September 16, 2020, the National Bank of Romania became a member of the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for the Greening the Financial System (NGFS). The National Bank of Romania has taken steps to identify, develop and use certain specific tools to analyze the risks posed by climate change in the process of implementing the financial stability policy, a research analysis that is highlighted in the latest editions of the Financial Stability Report, such as the December edition 2019,” it is written in the declaration of commitment of the National Bank of Romania, as an institutional member of the Network for Greening the Financial System.
The National Bank of Romania also mentions that it has facilitated debates between representatives of central banks, national and international institutions, institutes and associations of economic research, as well as academia, on how to address the challenges facing the financial system, generated by changes including the International Seminar on Financial Stability, organized annually in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (for example, in September 2019 the seminar included a session dedicated to experts in the field of climate change).
“The most recent and comprehensive involvement that the National Bank of Romania has undertaken in order to expand green financing in Romania, within the presidency of the National Committee for Macroprudential Supervision, was the establishment and coordination, between November 2020 – June 2021, of a working group to explore the current situation, challenges and opportunities for green financing in Romania, given the complex aspects of climate change and, therefore, the important role played by several institutions at national level, the group brought together around 90 members from a wide range of stakeholders: public authorities, credit institutions, representatives of international financial institutions, the private sector and relevant associations,” the statement said.
According to the NBR, the Report sought to identify appropriate solutions to the impact of climate change in Romania and issued 16 proposals for recommendations, covering three categories of measures: sustainable increase in project funding related to the climate change agenda; supporting structural change in the economy to generate greater added value and increasing transparency and awareness of the impact of climate change on the economy and the financial system.