But growth has a price. This is particularly reflected in increased emissions of greenhouse gases as a result of increased human activity. It is still uncertain how serious the impact of gas emissions will be. But once the impact comes into full evidence, it may be too late to take corrective action. There is also the risk that the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reaches such a high level that it exceeds critical values that cannot be reversed. We are very pleased to have Dr John Llewellyn, Senior Economic Policy Advisor at Lehman Brothers, here today to enlighten us on how globalisation affects the environment. Changes  BIS Review 27/2008  1  in our environment affect the way we are able to interact: it is important to combine knowledge about nature with knowledge about the functioning of the economy. The last decade or so, we have witnessed increased financial integration and competition across national borders. This is a positive development. Deeper and more mature markets tend to be better equipped to deal with uncertainty and distress. But increased financial integration also raises the potential for more widespread contagion if something goes wrong, as witnessed by the current financial turmoil. Professor Philip Lane, Director of the Institute for International Integration studies at Trinity College Dublin, is one of the foremost experts on financial globalisation, and we are very much looking forward to hearing what he has to say on this subject.
Furthermore, the public finances of Bulgaria remain sound and the successful fiscal consolidation is illustrated by the budget surplus last year and the third lowest government debt to GDP ratio in the EU. As for the structural reform agenda, much more remains to be done in order to resolve remaining issues and help attract increased capital flows from the EU. 1/2  BIS central bankers' speeches  We at the central bank have already planned the next steps, which will build on recent progress. Among other things, we plan to further strengthen our banking supervision, develop the crisis management framework for the banking sector, and reduce the level of nonperforming loans. To conclude, decisive actions are required at both the EU and national levels to address the current saving-investment mismatches within the EU. While expending the available toolkit is important, priority should be given to resolving the remaining underlying issues with regard to banking and financial integration, real convergence, and quality of project management. 2/2  BIS central bankers' speeches