Les Rendez-vous de l'Eco "What role(s) for central banks in the face of ecological crises?"

As part of the "Rendez-vous de l'Eco"series , the Faculty of Economics at the University of Montpellier is organizing a conference on the theme: "What role(s) for central banks in the face of ecological crises?" on Thursday, January 23, 2025, starting at 6:00 pm, at the Faculty of Economics' Richter Campus.

What role can and should central banks and financial supervisory authorities play in the ecological transition? This question, almost totally absent from academic and political debate until the late 2010s, has gained momentum in recent years. The many academic articles and public policy proposals that have emerged on this subject can be divided into two categories: (i) a risk-based approach that aims to integrate climate and nature considerations into the day-to-day operations of central banks, without calling into question their current mandates and practices; (ii) a proactive approach that aims to put central banks at the service of the transition, emphasizing their ability to redirect financial flows.

Both approaches appear to have significant limitations. In particular, the scenarios (implicit or explicit) informing existing studies often overlook crucial issues for central banks such as: the ability of different transition scenarios to generate GDP growth and capital accumulation opportunities; the fact that the transition is likely to take place in a world of increasing physical shocks, which could exacerbate phenomena such as profit-price spirals ; the new geo-economic reality in which high-income countries may not be the leaders in "green" technologies, leading to a major reconfiguration of trade and capital flows, which could then have a considerable impact on the role of central banks (for example, what new reference currency on the world stage?).

Assessing the role of central banks and financial supervisors in the ecological transition therefore requires an interdisciplinary approach, combining a political economy approach to money and finance with socio-technical perspectives on what the transition might actually look like. The aim of this presentation is to propose various (non-exhaustive) approaches to developing this agenda.

Speaker:

• Romain Svartzman is a Research Fellow at Bocconi University (Institute for European Policymaking) and a Research Associate at the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP, University College London). His research focuses on the development of ecological transition scenarios and the assessment of their macro-financial implications, as well as on possible reforms to the international monetary and financial architecture. Romain previously worked as a senior economist at the Banque de France. D. in Ecological Macroeconomics from McGill University (Canada). He has just been appointed (July 2024) Chairman of the French National Committee of UNESCO's Intergovernmental Hydrological Program.