There is a public debate, not just in this part of the world, about how to sustainably reduce global emissions of pollutants. The impact of climate change is also on the agenda at international organisations such as the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In 2016, the issue reached the financial markets, including due to the resolutions of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 21), which took place in Paris in 2015. The media keenly followed the work of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD), which was established by the Financial Stability Board. The working group chaired by Michael Bloomberg is expected to issue a final report with recommendations in June 2017.

In addition, a range of well-known academics and organisations addressed climate change and its effects (including for financial market stability) last year. Their work did not just deal with decarbonisation strategies, but also addressed second-round effects, thus bringing the corresponding vulnerability analyses into focus.

In BaFin's opinion, this work in the area of "green finance" must be continued, since it provides approaches to improve the disclosure of financial risks due to environmental issues and to further refine the tools to measure and manage these risks.

BaFin participates in the work, and for this purpose is in constant dialogue with various market players as well as international supervisory authorities and central banks.