2020

Video Transcript

Policy makers and banking bosses worldwide increasingly accept that protecting the evironment should be a responsibility of the financial system. That’s why sustainabilty was the focus at the annual conference of Hungary’s Central Bank.

 György Matolcsy, Hungarian Central Bank Governor: ”Long-term sustainability matters a lot. When it comes to climate change, social arrest, new macroeconomic challenges, we must build up a new approach, meaning that we have to focus on long-term sustainability.”

Hundreds of analysts and market participants heard the governor stress the importance of being able to wither economic and ecological crisis.

György Matolcsy, Hungarian Central Bank Governor: "We badly need new economic, financial, geopolitical approaches, and at the same time we had to face climate change challenges."

Those attending agree that economic growth relied on sustainability. ”We have to think about how the future can be lived without pollution, without the excessive use of energies and we have to employ all the means to support that our economy could be greener.” – Aniko Szombati, Chief Digital Officer, Hungarian Central Bank

Experts say the economy is booming. ”Hungarian economy is strong, actually strong and GDP grows quarter after quarter and we have a stable budget balance.” – Csaba Lentner, Professor, National University of Public Governance

About that may be the case now, according to the top banking authority, the affects of climate change are looming large. György Matolcsy, Hungarian Central Bank Governor: ”It’s happening now. It’s happening and we are probably just at the beginning of the whole cycle.” The Central Bank Governor says European economies must reflect on new challenges that threaten the growth and stability and in this decade, he sees, a main challenge will be climate change.

Isobel Ewing – CGT in Budapest: Hungary's highest banking authority has warned that climate change poses a threat to global economic growth. At a conference in Budapest, the governor of the country's central bank said the impact of climate change is already being felt, and banks and financial institutions should be focused on protecting the environment.

"We badly need new financial, geopolitical approaches ... and at the same time we have to face climate change challenges," said György Matolcsy. It comes as policymakers and banking bosses worldwide are increasingly accepting that protecting the environment should be a responsibility of the financial system. 

Hundreds of analysts and market participants heard Matolcsy as he stressed the importance of being able to weather economic and ecological crises. Many of those attending the conference agreed with the banking chief that future economic growth relied on sustainability.

"We have to think about how the future can be lived, without pollution, without the excessive use of energies and we have to employ all the means to support the economy being greener," said one attendee of the conference. Matolcsy's speech coincides with this year's World Economic Forum (WEF) conference in Davos, Switzerland. The WEF's annual list of top five risks facing the world this year were all environmental issues.

Csaba Lentner, an economist at the National University of Public Governance, added that the Hungarian economy is booming. "The Hungarian economy is strong, the GDP grows quarter after quarter and we have a stable budget balance," he said. 

But, while that may be the case now, according to the central bank governor, the effects of climate change are looming large. "It's happening now, it's happening and we are probably just at the beginning of the whole cycle," said Matolcsy.