24 In addition, there are other structural forces, such as population aging, that may impact bond markets and,  hence, the transmission of monetary policy. See, for example, Praet, P. (2018), “Economic policymaking under uncertainty", speech at the “la Caixa” Chair for Economics and Society conference, Madrid, 17 October. 25 Our actions to protect the environment begin with reducing our own ecological footprint. In 2007 we adopted an  environmental policy and registered with the European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme. For more, see ECB (2018), “2018 update of the ECB’s Enviornmental Statement”, October. 26 See, for example, Villeroy de Galhau, F. (2015), “Green Finance – A New Frontier for the 21st Century”, speech  given at the international climate risk conference for supervisors, Amsterdam, 6 April; and Knot, K. (2017), “Sustainability: a role for central banks?”, speech at the CEP/DNB workshop ‘Central banking & Green Finance’, Amsterdam, 28 November. 27 For example, we are part of the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures. The ECB is also a member of a technical expert group that is assisting the European Commission in establishing an EU-wide classification system, or taxonomy, for green assets. This taxonomy has the potential to increase transparency, discourage “greenwashing” and improve market pricing of both climate and transition risks. See European Commission (2018), “Action plan: financing sustainable growth”, March. 28 For a more general overview, see ECB (2006), “Portfolio Management at the ECB”, Monthly Bulletin, April.
Restoring market  BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  confidence, in turn, requires achieving fiscal sustainability while spurring economic growth. Some have described the task as akin to redesigning an aircraft in mid-flight amidst severe turbulence! 7. Nonetheless, important progress has been achieved and the situation today is visibly better than it was even six months ago. •  The European Central Bank’s Outright Monetary Transactions programme has materially reduced the tail risk of a disorderly breakup of the monetary union. •  Sovereign bond yields in Italy and Spain have come down, on average, some 200 basis points from their peak levels in the middle of last year. •  Bank deposits in the peripheral countries of Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain have shown signs of stabilisation. 8. But Europe remains mired in recession. There is still no compelling growth agenda. Domestic demand is weak amidst fiscal consolidation. Banks are not lending amidst an uncertain investment environment. And several structural issues remain unresolved. It will not take much to reignite financial market stresses. In short, the crisis in the Eurozone is not over. Japan: dealing with deflation, demographics, and a natural disaster 9. Japan has a different set of problems. Its economy has recovered less than two-thirds of the output lost during the crisis. It has fallen prey to weak external demand and is still reeling from the aftershocks of a major natural disaster. 10. Japan is caught in the pincer grip of prolonged deflation and unfavourable demographics.