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Course Information
Title
The Role of Central Banks and Financial Supervisory Authorities in Governing Sustainable Finance
Duration
1 hour
About the Course
This course discusses the importance of climate change and other environmental challenges for central banks and financial supervisors, and the implications for macroeconomic and financial stability. It also examines possible policy responses, emerging practices, and the way forward.
The course consists of 4 units:
Unit 1: Why Should Central Banks and Financial Supervisors Care About Climate Change and Environmental Challenges? (14 minutes)
Unit 2: The Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Macroeconomic and Financial Stability (11 minutes)
Unit 3: What Could Central Banks and Financial Supervisors Do to Boost Sustainable Finance? (9 minutes)
Unit 4: Emerging Practices and the Way Forward (26 minutes)
Learning Objectives
- Better understand the role of central banks and financial supervisors in addressing sustainability-related financial risks and aligning the financial system with sustainability goals
- Learn about the potential impacts of climate change on macroeconomic and financial stability
- Overview the policy tools available to central banks and financial supervisors for governing sustainable finance, including emerging practices
How to Complete this Course
- Watch 4 short video lessons
- Review open access reading materials
- Successfully pass quiz with a score of 8/10 or higher
- Certificate with unique ID will be issued upon completion of course requirements
Lecturer

Ulrich Volz, Director of the Centre for Sustainable Finance and Professor of Economics at SOAS, University of London; Senior Research Fellow, German Development Institute
Assigned Reading
- Dikau, S. and U. Volz. 2019. Central Banking, Climate Change and Green Finance. In Springer Handbook of Green Finance: Energy Security and Sustainable Development, edited by J. Sachs, W. Thye Woo, N. Yoshino, and F. Taghizadeh-Hesary. New York: Springer, 81–102. https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/26445/ (open access version also available as ADBI Working Paper 867).
- Robins, N., S. Dikau and U. Volz. 2021. Net-Zero Central Banking: A New Phase in Greening the Financial System. London: Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment and Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, and Centre for Sustainable Finance, SOAS, University of London.
Recommended
- Dikau, S., N. Robins and U. Volz. 2020. A Toolbox of Sustainable Crisis Response Measures for Central Banks and Supervisors – Second Edition: Lessons from Practice. London: Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics and Political Science and SOAS Centre for Sustainable Finance.
- Dikau, S. and U. Volz. 2021. Central Bank Mandates, Sustainability Objectives and the Promotion of Green Finance. Ecological Economics 184: 107022.
- Network for Greening the Financial System. 2019. A Call for Action. Climate Change as a Source of Financial Risk. Paris: NGFS.
- Ma, J., B. Caldecott, and U. Volz. 2020. Case Studies of Environmental Risk Analysis Methodologies. Paris: Central Banks and Supervisors, NGFS.
- 2019. A Sustainable and Responsible Investment Guide for Central Banks’ Portfolio Management. Paris: NGFS.
- 2020. Guide to Climate Scenario Analysis for Central Banks and Supervisors. Paris: NGFS.
- 2020. Integrating Climate-related and Environmental Risks into Prudential Supervision. Paris: NGFS.
- 2020. Climate Change and Monetary Policy Initial Takeaways. Technical Document. Paris: NGFS.
- 2021. Adapting Central Bank Operations to a Hotter World. Reviewing Some Options. Paris: NGFS.
- Semieniuk, G., E. Campiglio, J.-F. Mercure, U. Volz, and N.R. Edwards. 2020. Low-Carbon Transition Risks for Finance. WIREs Climate Change 12(1): e678.
- Vermeulen, R., E. Schets, M. Lohuis, B. Kölbl, D.-J. Jansen, and W. Heeringa. 2018. An Energy Transition Risk Stress Test for the Financial System of the Netherlands. Amsterdam: De Nederlandsche Bank.
- Volz, U. 2017. On the Role of Central Banks in Enhancing Green Finance. Geneva: UNEP Inquiry into the Design of a Sustainable Financial System.
- Volz, U. 2019. Fostering Green Finance for Sustainable Development in Asia. In Routledge Handbook of Banking and Finance in Asia, edited by U. Volz, P. Morgan, and N. Yoshino. London: Routledge
- Volz, U., J. Beirne, N. Ambrosio Preudhomme, A. Fenton, E. Mazzacurati, N. Renzhi, and J. Stampe. 2020. Climate Change and Sovereign Risk. London, Tokyo, Singapore, Berkeley: SOAS University of London, Asian Development Bank Institute, World Wide Fund for Nature Singapore, Four Twenty Seven.