海外之声 | 绿色金融中的透明度与市场诚信
导读
全球气候变化给金融稳定带来了巨大风险。近年来，各国央行认识气候相关问题的能力不断提高，同时也注意到自身角色和职责范围。由于气候危机本身的性质，虽然气候危机不是各国央行和金融当局要解决的首要问题，但央行正日益认识到采取行动的重要性。与气候相关的金融风险既是地方性的，又是全球性的，这就需要各国的共同努力。
如涉及气候危机的潜在解决方案，各国财政部门、国际金融组织、开发银行、商业银行、保险公司、监管机构和评级机构等都应该积极应对相关的金融问题。为了加强围绕绿色金融建立起的市场诚信，金融信息的披露和绿色投资的分类尤为紧迫。
投资者越来越多地在寻找对生态环境有利的投资项目，金融市场则提供新的产品。绿色债券的金额已超过1万亿美元，到2020年底接近1.2万亿美元。环境、社会和治理(ESG)基金的投资已达到38万亿美元，占全球总额的四分之一。
然而“绿色”标签和ESG评级所承诺的环境效益往往不够清楚，也无法保证落实。其部分原因在于，这些标签的产生是基于易验证的投入，而不是基于它们和更难验证的产出或具体结果是否一致。这些标签和评级和向低碳经济转型的高层政策目标很少一致。BIS的研究表明，给债券贴上“绿色”标签，并不意味着债券发行者是具有碳效率的，或者会随时间减少碳排放。
政策制定者需要通过提高市场透明度来帮助投资者，并从三个方面阻止“漂绿”（green washing）：一、制定气候转型分类，使其与《巴黎协定》等目标相一致；二、制定标准，使投资者能够准确地了解哪些环境效益可以通过标有“绿色”的资产来实现；三、制定认证和验证流程，确保环境效益实现。
作者 | 奥古斯丁·卡斯滕斯，国际清算银行总裁
英文原文如下：
Transparency and market integrity in green finance
Agustín Carstens, General Manager, Bank for International Settlements
The Green Swan Conference - Coordinating finance on climate
Basel, 2 June 2021
Source: BIS
As MinoucheShafik mentioned in her brilliant introductory remarks, it has been seven years since Mark Carney gave his seminal speech at Lloyd's of London where he argued that climate change posed serious financial stability risks. Since then, central banks have increasingly improved their ability to recognize climate-related issues, while also being mindful of the scope of their roles and mandates.
While the climate crisis is not the sole or the primary responsibility of central banks and financial authorities to solve, given the nature of the problem itself, the central banking community increasingly recognizes that taking action against climate change is paramount and that doing so requires a significant amount of coordination across and within jurisdictions and sectors. There is no "silver bullet", and no single country or organization can be successful alone. Climate-related financial risks are both local and global; they require countries to work together, especially now that over one hundred Governments expressed commitment to a net-zero (carbon) approach.
To address the key financial aspects related to a potential solution for the climate crisis, the essential players are:
• Treasuries, because they have primary responsibility for carbon pricing, their role as investors in green infrastructure, and the support they provide to research on sustainable policies;
• International institutions like the IMF – and here KristalinaGeorgieva has delivered a powerful message of commitment;
• Development banks, because they can leverage financing costs for transition and mitigation;
• Firms, commercial banks, insurance companies, regulators, standard-setters, and rating agencies to ensure consistency with net-zero commitments;
• And of course central banks and supervisors, at the individual level and as a group, as they work together through the NGFS.
The BIS has been doing its part.
We used the Black Swan image of the 2007-09 GreatFinancial Crisis to coin a new Green Swan concept: a series of severe climate events that are bound to happen because they are the result of our greenhouse emissions warming the globe's average temperature. We are seeing these events with greater frequency. Therefore, addressing these risks as soon as possible and in a coordinated fashion is the best way to preserve financial stability.
In addition:
• We have contributed to developing a green bond database for the NGFS to monitor market developments.
• Like many of you, we are incorporating sustainability criteria into our pension fund and other investments.
• We are offering green bond funds to central banks to facilitate the diversification of their international reserves.
• We are working with other central banks in our BIS Innovation Hub on how to use new financial technology to foster "green finance". For example, we are developing a prototype for the introduction of tokenized green bonds in small denominations, giving greater access to retail investors. This project integrates real-time tracking and disclosure of green output for investors, showcasing technologies that can be used to reduce greenwashing and increase transparency.
• And the BISwill deliver a dedicated portal, run by our Financial Stability Institute, for training on climate risks in partnership with the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) work. I am pleased that the BIS will soon launch the Climate Training Alliance with the NGFS, the international association of Insurance Supervisors, and the Sustainable Insurance Forum.
Not least, the BIS is actively involved in the widely recognized work of the NGFS, working together with the central banking and supervisory community on a wide range of relevant climate change-related issues. Working with the Bank of France, one of our contributions has been to help frame climate-change issues for the central banking community as a new systemic risk issue. The severe physical and transition risks of global warming fall squarely within the financial stability mandate of most central banks.
At the same time, we should be hard-nosed about what we are trying to achieve, and not get swept up by the sense of enthusiasm. Minouche asked each of us what we are expecting from this conference. Looking at the impressive agenda, we will hear about:
• Development of new macro models, new risk metrics, new climate-related stress tests, and new scenarios for 1.5 degrees Celsius (potential future temperature increase)for the real and the financial sectors;
• Elaboration of the scope and the role of macroprudential tools and how to achieve the right balance with monetary policy;
• Advancementsin financial knowledge to accelerate adaptation and transition toward a NetZero goal;
• Improvements to disclosure and accounting standards; and
• Progress in the taxonomy of green investments.
All of this is excellent. But we will need to be able to go from general approaches to specific solutions. For me, the last points on disclosure and taxonomy are particularly urgent in order to strengthen the integrity of markets that are being created around green finance.
Let me explain.
Investors are increasingly looking for investments with environmental benefits, and financial markets have responded by offering new products. The amount of outstanding bonds with a green label has surpassed the $1 trillion mark and stood at nearly $1.2 trillion at end-2020a. Investments in funds with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) mandates have reached $38 trillion on one measure – a quarter of the global total.b
Yet, green labels and ESG ratings are often not sufficiently clear on the promised environmental benefits and offer little assurance that benefits will materialize. Part of the problem derives from the fact that these labels are based on inputs, which are easy to verify, rather than how well they are aligned with outputs or concrete outcomes, which are harder to verify. Further, such labels and ratings are seldom aligned with high-level policy goals such as the transition to a low-carbon economy. BISresearch has shown that labeling bonds as "green" do not necessarily imply that issuers are carbon-efficient or reduce emissions over time. ESG ratings have fairly low correlations across different providers, reflecting the variety of different inputs that providers use to arrive at their ESG ratings. Similar results on the potential confusion around ESG ratings are shown by the work of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the IMF, and academics, which opens up the possibility of greenwashing.
Financial markets can make an important contribution to help the transition to a low carbon economy and protect our planet. Policymakers need to enable investors by enhancing market transparency and deter green-washing in three ways:
• Developtaxonomies for climate transition and align them with high-level goals such as the Paris Agreement;
• Develop standards that enable investors to understand exactly which environmental benefits can be delivered by assets labeled as "green";
• Developcertification and verification processes that confirm that promised environmental benefits are actually achieved.
A structural change in financial markets is underway and is happening fast. Thus we urgently need to ensure market transparency and integrity in this transition. If we want to avoid a green bubble, we need to act now.
Thank you very much.编译 李淼
编辑 查王皓天
来源 BIS
责编 李锦璇、蒋旭
监制 朱霜霜、董熙君
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