V20 Central Bank Governors Begin New Working Group to Manage Financial Impact of Climate Crisis

APRIL 16, 2024, WASHINGTON, DC: Central Bank Governors from across the 68 nations that make up the V20 Finance Ministers of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), met in Washington, DC today for the first meeting of the Central Bank Governors Working Group, a new V20 group aimed at addressing the intersection of climate change and global finance.

Convening on the margins of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group Spring Meetings, the V20 Central Bank Governors Working Group was established to understand the macroeconomic effects of climate change and foster technical collaboration among central banks of vulnerable countries.

The objectives of today’s meeting included:

• Unpacking the entry points for climate action by central banks and the financial sector;
• Understanding gaps in analytics, policy, and institutional design for effective climate change response; and
• Developing an action plan for integrating climate risks in central bank operations and the overall financial sector.

One of the key initiatives discussed during the meeting was the Global Shield against Climate Risks, a collaborative effort between the V20 and G7 aimed at increasing pre-arranged financing to address climate risks and close the financial protection gap.

A recent study estimates that V20 economies have lost USD 525 billion over the last two decades due to climate change impacts, translating to a 20 percent decrease in wealth.1 Moreover, external debt servicing across V20 economies is on the rise, hindering investments needed for climate action and development goals.

NOTES FOR EDITORS:

[1] Vulnerable Twenty Group, Climate Vulnerable Economies Loss Report, 2022. https://www.v-20.org/resources/publications/climate-vulnerable-economies-loss-report

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