BoE Conducts Poll on Climate Issues, Outlines Initiatives for 2021
BoE convened members of the public and businesses to join the climate change debate and conducted a poll on the climate change issues. In addition to the results of the poll, BoE published a briefing, from a session hosted by Sarah Breeden of BoE, targeting the BoE Agency contacts across UK. The briefing summarizes the actions BoE has taken so far in response to climate change and the work planned for 2021. It covers what this means for the banks and insurers BoE regulates and how this work could support businesses and households with climate transition. BoE plans to launch the Climate Biennial Exploratory Scenario in June 2021 and expects banks and insurers to fully embed the supervisory expectations on managing climate change risks by the end of 2021. The briefing also highlights that climate disclosures will become mandatory in UK by 2025.
Ms. Breeden led two virtual events this month that were designed to increase understanding and engagement on the issue of climate change. The business leaders event, on January 14, 2021, was attended by more than 650 businesses that are contacts of the BoE’s network of Agents across UK. The Citizens’ Panel event, on January 26, 2021, saw nearly 70 members of the BoE Citizens’ Panels participate in a series of small discussion sessions and a Q&A with BoE staff:
- A poll at the event for businesses exploring the main drivers for companies to take positive action on climate change revealed that more than half of respondents (52%) felt that the primary motivator for their business to transition to net-zero emissions was a "moral obligation." The other most popular responses were "commercial opportunities from the transition" (22%) and "regulatory or legal requirements" (20%). When asked to identify the biggest obstacle they faced in transitioning their businesses toward net-zero emissions, 38% pointed to a "lack of organizational capacity" and 27% cited a "lack of detail over government climate policy and regulatory barriers."
- At the event for Citizens’ Panel members, participants discussed how climate change is affecting their day-to-day lives and how the financial sector can support them and businesses transition to net zero. Nearly half of those voting (52%) said that the main reason for supporting climate action was to "protect the environment." When asked what they felt was the main driver for organizations to take positive action, the most popular answer was regulatory or legal requirements (45%) and that "customers demand it" (36%).
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Keywords: Europe, UK, Banking, Insurance, Climate Change Risk, ESG, Stress Testing, CBES, Disclosures, BoE
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