This publication serves as a roadmap for exploring and managing climate risk in the U.S. financial system. It is the first major climate publication by a U.S. financial regulator. The central message is that U.S. financial regulators must recognize that climate change poses serious emerging risks to the U.S. financial system, and they should move urgently and decisively to measure, understand, and address these risks. Achieving this goal calls for strengthening regulators’ capabilities, expertise, and data and tools to better monitor, analyze, and quantify climate risks. It calls for working closely with the private sector to ensure that financial institutions and market participants do the same. And it calls for policy and regulatory choices that are flexible, open-ended, and adaptable to new information about climate change and its risks, based on close and iterative dialogue with the private sector. At the same time, the financial community should not simply be reactive—it should provide solutions. Regulators should recognize that the financial system can itself be a catalyst for investments that accelerate economic resilience and the transition to a net-zero emissions economy. Financial innovations, in the form of new financial products, services, and technologies, can help the U.S. economy better manage climate risk and help channel more capital into technologies essential for the transition. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5247742

This report provides an assessment of how governments can generate inclusive economic growth in the short term, while making progress towards climate goals to secure sustainable long-term growth. It describes the development pathways required to meet the Paris Agreement objectives.

Banks, like other businesses, endeavor to drive revenue and growth, while deftly managing the risks. Dubbed the next "frontier" in risk management for financial services, climate related risks are the newest and potentially the most challenging set of risks that banks are encountering. On the one hand, banks must show their commitment to becoming net zero and, on the other, help their customers transition to more sustainable operations, all this while managing climate-related financial risks. It is a paradigm shift from how the banking industry has traditionally managed risks as climate change risks are complex. They are multilayered, multidimensional with uncertain climate pathways that impact real economy which in turn influences the financial ecosystem in myriad ways. Climate Change Risk Management in Banks weaves the complete lifecycle of climate risk management from strategy to disclosures, a must-read for academics, banking professionals and other stakeholders interested in understanding and managing climate change risk. It provides much-needed insights, enabling organizations to respond well to these new risks, protect their businesses, mitigate losses and enhance brand value. Saloni Ramakrishna, an acknowledged financial industry practitioner, argues that given the uncertain and volatile climate paths, complex geopolitical patterns, and sustainability challenges, banks and business professionals will benefit from a wholistic approach to managing climate change risks. The book provides a blueprint and a cohesive framework for embracing and maintaining such an approach, in a simple and structured format.

Despite growing discussions on the relationship between sustainability and finance, so far little attention has been given to the relation linking sustainability-related risks and financial risks. Climate change, environmental degradation and social inequality, among others factors, may indeed have considerable adverse impacts on financial actors and markets, and even have the potential to harm financial stability. Shedding light on the importance of the nexus between sustainability and financial risks, this book addresses the need for new industry and policy approaches. With insights from a skilled set of scholars in the finance field, this edited collection explores the effects of climate risks on the banking and insurance industries, the problem of stranded assets, the possible corporate risk management frameworks that could be used to control sustainability-related risks, the role of non-financial disclosure in fostering market discipline, and the policy actions needed to integrate sustainability considerations into prudential supervision. Tackling an interdisciplinary topic, this book will appeal to academics and practitioners within the finance, business and sustainability fields.

This book is a guide for companies of all sizes as they navigate business responsibility in climate change. It includes the latest scientific research, governance tools, and recent developments in sustainable finance. Providing steps for a meaningful contribution to climate change, this is a critical tool for all corporate stakeholders.

Climate change creates risks and opportunities for the private sector in emerging markets, and may impact the performance of financial institutions and the companies they invest in. Recognizing knowledge gaps in how climate change will affect the private sector over shorter time horizons, IFC has published Climate Risk and Financial Institutions, a publication that covers climate-related risks material to financial institutions, including commercial banks, institutional investors, and international financial institutions.