A coalition of economists and green economy leaders has written to Bank of England (BoE) Governor Andrew Bailey, calling on him to “urgently re-prioritise” work on climate change following a decision to pare back resources in this area. Last year, UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt removed climate change from the list of critical government policy pillars that the BoE should support. Subsequently, Bailey reduced the central bank’s funding to environmental workstreams. The letter sent to the governor in response was led by NGO Positive Money and supported by more than 50 economists and green economy leaders. In it, Bailey was warned that the BoE risked lagging behind its international peers on supporting low-carbon industries and preparing for systemic risks linked to the climate crisis if it didn’t increase climate funding. The letter also noted that the UK financial sector was “continuing to underprice climate and nature risks”. Signatories included economists Ann Pettifor and Jason Hickel; former Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC) lead author and ecological economist Julia Steinberger; author and former UK Sustainable Development Commission chair Jonathon Porritt; activist and journalist George Monbiot; and WWF UK chief economist Jaren Ellis.
Added my name to this open letter to the governor of the Bank of England, urging the Bank to end the "slimming down" of its work on climate change "…in recognition that environmental risks fall squarely within core central bank mandates for price and financial stability…" https://t.co/5bKLex1lFZ
— James Meadway (@meadwaj) March 18, 2024
