Disclosure metrics force us to confront the question of where we are and where we want to be, and thereby drive different decisions today. Knowing that we will be publishing our next TCFD disclosure in less than 12 months creates discipline and urgency. That brings me to the management of climate risks. Last year we became the first central bank and supervisor to set out supervisory expectations for banks and insurers on the management of climate risks.2 And this year we wrote to CEOs with more guidance, putting in place a deadline for firms to meet our expectations by the end of 2021.3 Of course, this is no easy task. That is why we have worked closely with industry through the Climate Financial Risk Forum (CFRF) to publish a practical guide for firms so that they can implement changes.4  1  https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/prudential-regulation/publication/2020/climate-related-financial-disclosure-2019-20 https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/prudential-regulation/publication/2019/enhancing-banks-and-insurers-approaches-to-managing-thefinancial-risks-from-climate-change-ss 3 https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/prudential-regulation/letter/2020/managing-the-financial-risks-from-climate-change 4 https://www.fca.org.uk/transparency/climate-financial-risk-forum 2  3  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/speeches and @BoE_PressOffice  3  As a central bank we are not only concerned with resilience at a micro-level, but also at a macro-level. That is why in July 2019 we announced our plan to launch a climate stress test exercise.5 When the pandemic hit, we decided to postpone the exercise in light of strain on firms’ resources, and to ensure the ambitious scope of the exercise could be maintained. We have used the extra time to continue our work on the design of the exercise, and firms have been busy preparing for it.
To support this, we need to see a strong focus on public metrics that set out the climate impacts 5  Climate BES was first announced in the July 2019 Financial Stability Report and further detailed provided in the December 2019 Discussion Paper 4  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/speeches and @BoE_PressOffice  4  of both investment and corporate activities. In turn, this will help to facilitate the development of capital market instruments that package risk and return and asset allocation strategies that align portfolios with the transition. The Bank will support the work to make this happen, consistent with the objective of our Financial Policy Committee to support productive finance and thus the economy. Returning to Bretton Woods for a moment. The UK economy and financial system is very open, and like Covid, climate is a common global risk and we cannot hope to insulate ourselves through domestic action alone. We are committed to working closely with willing international partners through initiatives such as the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS), of which we are a co-founder and very active member, and where much progress has been made in raising our collective ambition as central banks and regulators as well as identifying best practice in identifying and mitigating climate risks in the financial system.