ECB’s Elderson saying mandate ‘squarely’ covers climate and nature is major progress - Positive Money Europe

Press release 

19 October 2026

Brussels

Press release - ECB’s Elderson saying mandate ‘squarely’ covers climate and nature is major progress - Positive Money Europe

A Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, Frank Elderson, has said today that central banks must take climate and nature into account as they are a significant part of our economy.

Mr Elderson was speaking at the Green Swan 2026 Conference in the Philippines, an annual event that looks at the intersection of climate change, the real economy, and central banking.

His words closely reflect what Positive Money Europe has long advocated for.

As part of a wider speech Elderson said “Climate change and nature degradation are a certainty in an uncertain world… (they) are not external to our economies… (and as their) risks increasingly affect productivity, growth, inflation and the resilience of the financial system, taking them into account falls squarely within our mandate.”

Laura Casonato is Head of Policy for the Brussels based organisation that campaigns for a fairer and cleaner economy.

“It’s excellent to hear Frank Elderson sounding so much like a campaigner for green central banking. He is backing the suggestions we have made for a long time and seeing that climate change is driving inflation and taking climate risks into account falls within central banks' primary mandates. Adaptation deals with the consequences, mitigation with the causes. If you don’t do both things you don’t solve the situation.”

“The transition to a cleaner economy doesn't weaken our economy, it actually protects it. Spain’s solar expansion proved that clean energy breaks our dependence on expensive gas. Clean, home-produced and affordable energy is competitiveness. So the conclusion is clear: central banks must integrate climate into everything they do. That goes beyond a risk-based approach, which is about protecting balance sheets from climate shocks: central banks must actively use monetary policy to direct capital toward renewables. It's time to align monetary policy with economic reality."

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Positive Money Europe is a research and advocacy nonprofit organisation, working on the economic system for social justice and a liveable planet.

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