23.02.23 Paper on International Operability of Green Taxonomies published.

I had the privilege of chairing a working group of the Uk Green Technical Advisory Group on this topic. Our advice was published today. Please read and offer feedback!

19.01.22 Webinar on The Role of Financial Regulation in Climate Change

A free webinar from Warwick University Business School, partly to promote some new material for our course on Central Banking and Financial Regulation. This webinar will be published shortly.

26.11.21 How is the post-covid economic recovery going?

Recorded in July 2021, this podcast (episode 5 of the Core Insight Series) talks about some issues in the recovery of the economy from the pandemic, with Professor Ana Galvao – we were interviewed by Audrey Dias.

19.11.21 Post COP26 webinar

I took part in a post-COP Webinar discussion put on by Fathom Consulting. The panel also included Brian Davidson (Fathom); Elena Philipova (LSE Group); Cain Blythe (Ecosulis) and Rachel Fletcher (Octopus Energy). You can see a recording of it here.

5.11.21 Podcast

I participated in a podcast for ANU/King’s College London, discussing various aspects of the role of finance in climate action. Listen: here. 
Hosts were Drs Megan Bowman (Kings) and Will Grant (ANU), the other guests were Professors Frank Jotzo and Howard Ramsey (both ANU).

26.10.21 Podcast and working paper publication.

1. Centralbanking.com have published a podcast in which I talk about the relationship between governments and central banks.
Link here.
2. Kings College Business School, DAFM centre have published our discussion paper on Greening the central bank balance sheet.

9.6.21 Green Technical Advisory Group announced.

I have been appointed to the new GTAG. Please see the relevant blog post.

18.2.21 Fathom Consulting webinar.

I will be part of a panel at this event.
Climate economics: leading the way to net zero and beyond.
Thursday 18 February 2021 3:00-4:00pm GMT
Register here.

30.11.20 ‘Corporate Imperatives in the Face of Climate Change’.

I was also honoured to be asked to write a preface for the second edition of the “Oslo Principles” of Principles on Climate Obligations of Enterprises. The book is now available from Eleven International Publishing

27.11.20 LIBF 2020 Graduation Ceremony

Very honoured to be awarded an honorary Masters Degree by the London Institute of Banking and Finance.
If you want to hear me rambling about the importance of simple strategies, my acceptance speech is somewhere in here! Well done to the class of 2020 … Graduation Ceremony on Youtube

12.11.20 ‘Making the Financial System Sustainable‘ published today!

Cambridge University Press have now published ‘Making the Financial System Sustainable‘. Available from CUP with a 20% off discount voucher. Enter MFSS2020 at the checkout. Also available on Amazon.

20.5.20 Webinar on the Importance of Central Bank Balance Sheets

This webinar wil lexplain how central banks use their balance sheets to support their policy objectives – including the response to Covid-19. See my blog here.

17.2.20 Climate Change Blog: Sustainable Finance and the Latest Banking Regulations

This blog takes a short look at how banking regulations are responding to climate change. See the link: here.

10.10.19 Climate Change Blog: The Challenges of Green Finance

600 word blog on the nature of the challenges and why the focus should be on increasing the demand for sustainable finance. See the link: here.

22.7.19 Climate Change Blog : The Importance of Climate-related Financial Disclosures.

600 word blog on why regulators and investors are pushing for greater disclosures across the economy. See the link: here.

17.7.19 New Masters degree in Central Banking and Financial Regulation

Warwick University Business School and the Bank of England have launched a new Masters Degree that will be on-line, part-time distance learning and global. Find out more by watching this video. Link to degree intro.

The first course will be on Comparative Central Banking and taught by myself and Diarmuid Murphy of the Central Bank of Ireland. And intro to our course can be found here. Starts this October, 2019.

16.4.19 Climate Change Blog : How climate change could hit the financial sector

My second 600 word blog on climate risks looks at the nature of short-term vs long-term risks.  Climate risks are long-term in the sense that  they will increase  over time : but they could still crystalise at anytime now.  Financial firms cannot afford to ignore them.  See the link: here.   

26.2.19 Climate Change Blog : The role of central banks.

Following up my presentation in New York, and a similar one at RBA in November, I have now produced a full paper on the topic.  it is available in draft at the moment if anyone would like to comment on it.  Meanwhile, here is the 600 word blog version :
climate change and the role of central banks
I will be doing an occasional blog on climate issues for the London Institute of Banking and Finance, who have also made me a visiting professor.

2.10.18 Climate Change and Central Banks

I was very pleased to be able to present on this topic on October 1st to around 100 central bankers at the New York Fed’s famous week long ‘training’ seminar for visiting central bankers – including Fed staff from around the US.  Attendance is limited to central bankers but an overview of the programme and the week’s agenda can be found here here.

1.10.18 Columbia University SIPA and New York Federal Reserve joint workshop on Monetary Policy Implementation

I presented a paper at this workshop, on September 28, to discuss the future of central bank balance sheets.  This is a specialist topic but it had a brilliant attendance list – very nice to meet up with long-standing contacts like Willem Buiter, Francesco Papadia and others.  Well done Patricia Mosser and colleagues from the School of International and Public Affairs  and the NY Fed for organising it.  The agenda for the workshop and my slides can be found here.  The underlying paper is due out shortly as a Discussion Paper from King’s Business School.

19.8.18 FSAP for the Euro Area published by IMF.

I worked on the IMF FSAP for the Euro Area in February and March.  Many thanks to the IMF and ECB for a rich experience, and my great co-worker Diarmuid Murphy, then IMF now back at Central Bank of Ireland.  The papers were published today and a link to our Technical Note on Systemic Liquidity Management is on the publications page.

16.7.18 Appointment to the Advisory Group for the Green Finance Institute.

The first recommendation from the Green Finance Task Force was to have a single brand for work on Green Finance in the UK. This new Institute, joint between the City of London and Government is that body.   I am pleased to have been appointed to the Advisory Group.

9.4.18  Appointment as a Senior Research Fellow at King’s College Business School

I have now agreed to sign up as a Senior Research Fellow at the new Centre for Data Analytics for Finance and Macro (DAFM) in Kings’ new Business School.

28.3.18 UK Green Finance Task Force report published.

You can find it here.  We had a launch event at the Guildhall, with minister Claire Perry, chaired by task force chair, Sir Roger Gifford.  I spoke about the green fintech and climate analytics recommendations, as well as implementing the proposals of the Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures.

8.3.18 EC Action Plan on Sustainable Finance published.

You can find it  here.  Launch event was 22 March in Brussels, where French President Macron led the speaking lineup.  Lets hope the EU can deliver!

6.2.18 London Launch of the HLEG report at the London Stock Exchange

An event to promote the HLEG Report and link it to the UK Green Finance Task Force.  I spoke on the latter topic. 9am-1pm.

31.1.18 Publication of final report from the EC HLEG on Sustainable Finance

The full report is here.  The press release is here.  CISL blog by Andrew Voysey here.

At the start of 2017 a group of experts met for the first time in Brussels. Twenty members drawn both from the finance community and from civil society across Europe, with a dozen observers and a European Commission Secretariat, set out to produce policy recommendations to make the European economy more sustainable. Urgent action was, and is, needed as global temperatures continue to trend upwards and social injustice rises up the populist political agenda.

A year later (remarkable rapidity for such a group) a 100 page report was published. It  outlines a comprehensive agenda for change across all facets of the financial sector. Its broad agenda covers a green taxonomy; enhanced corporate disclosures; corporate governance; the duties of investment managers; infrastructure funding; sustainable retail savings products; connecting the citizen with finance; standards and labels for green finance and the role of European regulatory agencies. The Commission has shown every sign of running with the proposals, seeking to implement some before the drafting was finished!

It has been all too easy in the past to criticise policy makers for a lack of action. Here, for the first time and at their own request, is a detailed, technically robust set of policies which can really make a difference to the challenges facing our planet.
Global warming does not recognise national boundaries. With US leadership on many issues falling away, Europe has the potential to take pole position, influencing what happens throughout the world – perhaps in partnership with China which is desperately worried about its domestic pollution.

It is not often the authorities deserve praise for being brave. Full and swift adoption of this policy programme would certainly earn that applause. Let’s hope that the EU – which is usually notoriously slow moving and bureaucratic – can use this breath of fresh air, not just to change the way we live but as a model for its future policy development.

Media Coverage for which I was interviewed.  Unfortunately, these mostly need subscriptions, sometimes even to find 😦
Financial Times: by Jennifer Thompson here.
Business Green: by Michael Holder here.
Politico: by Fiona Maxwell (no link available).

18.9.17 Announcement of UK Green Finance Task Force

I have been appointed to this new group set up by UK Government: HMT and BEIS.  Details can be found : here.  This Taskforce will work with industry to accelerate the growth of green finance, and help to deliver the investment required to meet the UK’s carbon reduction targets.  The group met for the first time on 26th September and has 6 months to produce recommendations.    Photo of launch meeting.

1.9.17 Working paper on the PRA’s competition objective

A joint paper of myself and Professor Paul Grout has been published as Staff Working Paper no 675 by the Bank of England.  It considers the PRA’s competition policy objective.  It can be downloaded here.

24.8.17 Responsible Investor article on what’s needed to help banks fulfil their role in sustainable finance.

A thought piece on the role of banks.  Can be found here.

18.7.17 EU High-Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance interim report

This was published on 13th July 2017.  It can be downloaded from here.  On 18th we held a Stakeholder’s day in Brussels at which I spoke, and on 20th July we did a launch event in London.

A consultation questionnaire has been launched relating to the interim report and it may be found here.   Consultation responses must be submitted on the on-line form by September 20th latest, preferably by September 6th.

17.7.17 Opinion piece on the Ethical Corporation website

How the G20 can supercharge Green Finance. Link here.

8.7.17 Op-Ed in the Daily Telegraph

How Green Finance can Change the World.  Link here.

29.6.17 Opinion Piece on Investment and Pensions Europe website

Comment: Could climate cause the next financial crisis.  Link here.

16.6.17 Presentation to the Wellbeing Research Centre, Richmond University

This event is a round-table discussion on the environment.  event link here

16.5.17 Presentation to the CFA Eminent Speaker Series on climate change

Good turnout, great questions.  If you are a CFA member you should be able to log on and find the video and presentation.  event notification here

28.4.17 Presentation at Bath University on climate change

Really nice audience at Bath. There are good academics working on this topic – wouldnt it be great to have an annual national Conference on climate change work?

22.2.17 Presentation at the Norwegian Parliament on Renewable energy investments

I was invited by the European Climate Foundation to help present today a new report advising the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund to invest 5% of its funds in unlisted renewable energy infrastructure.  The report was co-authored and led by Tom Sanzillo, Finance Director of the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.  We both gave a number of media interviews around the topic.  The report can be found here.

13.2.17 Appointment as Vice-Chair of the Banking Environment Initiative

Cambridge University Institute for Sustainability Leadership support a number of financial sector groups.  I have agreed to be vice-chair of the banking group, the BEI. Press announcement and related links can be found here.

22.12.16  Sustainable Finance – a chance to influence EU policy 

On 22 December 2016 it was announced that I had been selected to serve on a European Commission High Level Experts Group during 2017 to advise on EU policy on Sustainable Finance.  I  was nominated by the Cambridge University Institute for Sustainability Leadership at which I am a Senior Associate.  The work of the new group is to be as described in the press release linked here:
EC press release

CISL Press release  (added 11.01.17) and the home site for CISL is here:  CISL

December 2016 – January 2017.  Financial World article ‘Outlook Changeable’.

In the December 2016- January 2017 issue of the magazine Financial World, published by the London Institute of Banking and Finance in conjunction with CSFI,  I have written a piece about the risks and opportunities for the financial sector arising from climate change.  As far as I know the journal is available by subscription only, but I have added the text of my article as a page here.