High-level Seminar on Climate Change Issues for Governors and Financial Sector Policymakers
Bangkok, Thailand, December 12 - December 13, 2023
December 12-13, 2023
IMF Conference
Global Financial Markets Confront the War in the Middle East and Amplification Risks
During December 12–13, 2023, the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department (APD) and the Monetary and Capital Markets Department (MCM) hold a high-level seminar on Climate Change Issues at Shangri-La Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand. The event is being co-hosted by the Bank of Thailand (BOT) and jointly organized by the IMF Capacity Development Office in Thailand (CDOT) and South Asia Regional Training and Technical Assistance Center (SARTTAC) in India. Generous financing for the event is being provided by the government of Korea in support of peer-to-peer learning. The seminar will have 80 participants, including central bank governors and deputy governors, high-level officials, and private sector from 13 countries over the region, namely Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Korea, Lao PDR, Maldives, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Thailand.
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Day 1: High-level Seminar on Climate Issues |
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| 8:30 – 9:00 AM | Registration |
| 9:00 – 9:10 AM |
Welcome Remarks
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| 9:10 – 9:25 AM | Opening Remarks Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput, Governor, Bank of Thailand |
| 9:30 – 11:00 AM |
Session 1: Transition Challenges and Scaling Up Climate Financing This session will open with a presentation on the state of climate finance for Asian countries in the context of their long-term financing requirements. These countries have elevated investment needs, even before addressing climate adaptation and mitigation, while debt levels are already high for some. Climate finance can play a meaningful part in meeting this challenge. Moderator: Krishna Srinivasan, Director, Asia and Pacific Department, IMF Panelists:
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| 11:00 – 11:30 AM | Break and Official Photo at Ballroom 2 |
| 11:30 AM – 13:00 PM |
Session 2: Climate Risks and Financial Stability: What Can Central Banks Do? Discussion with Asian Central Bank Deputy Governors This session will open with a keynote speech followed with a moderated discussion on the roles and practices of central banks in mitigating climate risks and ensuring financial stability. The session will enable experience sharing on central banks’ evolving institutional frameworks for addressing opportunities and challenges of climate risks and potential financing needs. This session will encourage peer-to-peer exchange of central bank experiences. Moderator: Tobias Adrian, Director, Monetary and Capital Markets Department, IMF Panelists:
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| 13:00 – 14:00 PM | Lunch |
| 14:00 – 15:00 PM |
Session 3: Getting the most from official sector climate finance and multilateral (or cross-country) insurance schemes This session will kick off a dialogue on the potential role of climate finance and insurance for Asian countries in the context of climate adaptation and mitigation. In particular, it will explore how Asian countries can benefit from official-sector and multilateral initiatives: the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) and existing regional initiatives. The session will also cover the Global Shield (GS) against climate risks initiative launched by the G7 countries and the Vulnerable 20 Group (V20) at the Climate Change Conference (COP27) in November 2022. The GS will increase financial protection by enhancing pre-arranged finance, insurance, and social-protection measures against disasters. Moderator: Ananthakrishnan Prasad, Advisor and Unit Chief Monetary and Capital Markets Department, IMF Panelists:
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| 15:00 – 15:15 PM | Break |
| 15:15 – 16:30 PM |
Session 4: Market-based climate finance and improving debt resilience to shocks This session will provide an overview of the universe of climate finance, with an emphasis on market-based instruments such as green, blue, and sustainability-linked bonds, state-contingent debt instruments that include typhoon and other natural disaster clauses, as well as blended finance. It will examine the outlook for the growth of and access to these instruments and how Asian countries can add them to their financing toolkit. Moderator: Charles Cohen, Advisor, Monetary and Capital Markets Department, IMF Panelists:
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| 18:00 – 19:30 PM | Reception/Dinner |
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Day 2: Technical Learning |
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| 9:00 – 10:30 AM |
Session 5: Climate Risk Analysis 101 for financial stability policy making This session will lay out approaches to climate risk analysis, based on the IMF framework for climate risk analysis in the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP). The seminar will explain the approach to standard risk analysis in FSAPs and how this has been adjusted and augmented to incorporate climate risks, both physical and transition risk. Data needs and methodological challenges in climate risk analysis will also be discussed. The session will also open a discussion among the participant-countries on approaches and tools for climate risk analysis that can be applied in the daily work of financial stability policy makers. Moderator: Ivo Krznar, Deputy Division Chief, Monetary and Capital Markets Department, IMF Panelists:
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| 10:30 – 11:00 AM | Break |
| 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM |
Session 6: Addressing climate risks in prudential supervision and regulation – views from the region The recognition that climate-related financial risks can be a threat to financial stability is prompting supervisors to review their regulatory and supervisory frameworks to ensure that these risks are appropriately tackled. The Basel Committee for Banking Supervision and the International Sustainability Standards Board have issued new standards and guidance in this area. This session will discuss the international experience in implementing these international benchmarks (e.g., the Principles for Effective Management and Supervision of Climate-related Financial Risks). This session will also open a discussion among the participant-countries on their regulatory and supervisory approaches to climate-related risks, challenges they face, and ways to address them. Moderator: Nitin Jain, Financial Sector Supervision and Regulation Advisor, SARTTAC Panelists:
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| 12:30 – 13:30 PM | Lunch |
