The latest (2004) estimate is that growth was actually 4% a long way above trend. As Robin Leigh-Pemberton, then Governor of the Bank of England, said “we put the brakes on when the speedometer indicated we were doing 60mph. Some time later it was revealed we were doing 55. When the tachograph was opened, however, it revealed that we had actually been doing 70, when the speedometer read 60… more brake pressure was therefore entirely appropriate.” This episode marked a low point for the UK’s GDP statistics in recent times. Since then, a number of methodological changes have been introduced, and data sources have been improved. Analysis both by the ONS and the Statistics Commission indicates a dramatic reduction in the average size of revisions over the past fifteen years. Even so, measuring the economy remains a complex task, and data uncertainty is a fact of life. So what does the MPC do to ensure its judgements are as firmly grounded in reality as possible? We have a four pronged approach: •  We monitor a very wide range of data  •  We pay careful attention to data quality  •  We talk to business people around the country  BIS Review 71/2004  3  •  We are working closely with ONS to transform the quality of official statistics  Monitoring a wide array of indicators First, we critically review an enormous quantity of data.
To that end, I welcome the Government's 2023 Green Finance StrategyOpens in a new window. It includes a huge number of measures, but I was especially pleased to see commitments that will create the required cross-economy infrastructure for financing – including sector investment plans, an industry-led Transition Finance Market Review, and a Net Zero Business and Investment Group to advise government on the needs of the private sector to mobilise capital. Turning aspiration into action The reason I have spent some time on these four areas is not just because a lot has happened. It is because it is important to recognise the progress we have seen. 3/7  BIS - Central bankers' speeches  But have we reached a tipping point where firms' capabilities and understanding of the opportunities and risks from transition are driving strategic decision-making? Well here is the reality check. The shift I had hoped to see in stronger linkages between climate change and strategic decision making across the economy have proved harder to deliver in practice. Why is that? Undoubtedly, those headwinds of the last three years and for which we have no recent precedent have reduced our collective ability to take action. This is undeniably unfortunate – but it is a legitimate rationale. Indeed, against this backdrop we have perhaps seen more progress than might have been expected. But we cannot get away from the fact that regardless of this legitimacy, climate risks continue to build and still need to be addressed.