Finance & economicsClimate riskCould climate change trigger a financial crisis?IN RECENT YEARS regulators have begun warning about the threat that climate change poses to the stability of the financial system.Following its strategy review in July, the European Central Bank (or ECB) will assemble a “climate change action plan”.Mark Carney, the former governor of the Bank of England, warned of financial risks from climate change as long ago as 2015.In America the Commodity Futures Trading Commission last year published a 200-page report beginning “Climate change poses a major risk to the stability of the US financial system.”But progressive Democratic politicians are calling on President Joe Biden not to reappoint Jerome Powell as the chairman of the Federal Reserve, partly because they think he has done too little to eliminate climate risk.Just how damaging does climate risk stand to be, though?Early stress tests by central banks and disclosures of companies are starting to shed light on the question.For the most part, the evidence that it could bring down the financial system is underwhelming.But a lot hangs on whether governments set out a clear path for reducing emissions, such as through carbon taxes and energy-efficiency standards, giving banks enough time to prepare.
财经板块气候风险气候变化会否触发金融危机？近年来，监管机构已经开始就气候变化对金融体系的稳定性构成的威胁发出警告。继7月份的战略评估之后，欧洲央行(ECB)将制定一项“气候变化行动计划”。英国央行(Bank of England)前行长马克・卡尼(Mark Carney)早在2015年就警告过气候变化带来的金融风险。去年，美国商品期货交易委员会(CFTC)发布了一份200页的报告，其开头是“气候变化对美国金融体系的稳定性构成重大风险”。但先进的民主党政客们呼吁乔・拜登总统不要再次任命杰罗姆・鲍威尔为美联储主席，部分原因是他们认为鲍威尔在消除气候风险方面做得远远不够。然而，气候风险到底有多大的破坏性呢?各国央行进行的早期压力测试和企业披露的信息让这个问题初现端倪。一般来讲，它在拖垮金融体系方面并没有那么大的威力。但很多问题取决于政府是否制定了明确的减排路径，比如实施碳税和能源效率标准，给银行足够的时间去做好准备。
