There are still no green Swedish government bonds, but green bonds have increased substantially in corporate bonds. 35 See ICMA (2018) for a description of the principles for green bonds. 15 [18]  on the Swedish and the global economy, we will cooperate with others on financial sector regulation and we will continue the work to review the assets we have on our balance sheet. I would particularly like to highlight the opportunities that central banks have to understand and analyse the role of financial markets in the transition to a more sustainable future. It is important that we do not make the same mistakes again as before the global financial crisis when many, but not all36, economists and central banks misjudged how quickly and powerfully a mispricing of risk in the US housing market would spread through the global financial system. We need to act now to reduce the risk of a mispricing of climate-related risk triggering a new economic crisis. The central bank world was perhaps a little slow off the mark, but now when the ball is rolling, things are moving forward rapidly. The rapid emergence of the NGFS is one reason for optimism; an increasing number of central banks are now taking the climate issue very seriously. I would like to finish by once again extending my thanks to you for organising this seminar.
Countries that choose not to put a price on carbon could be subject to carbon tariffs that might indirectly increase their costs, something which is moreover being considered by the European Commission.15 16 Such measures are adopted by national parliaments and negotiated in international contexts by head of government and finance ministers. In the current situation, there are only a few countries that have carbon taxes17 and global carbon taxes have yet to be discussed in international negotiations. As policy-makers, we therefore need to be prepared for a global price on carbon not becoming a reality in the short term. Implementing other measures is therefore a matter of urgency. For example, the Swedish Economic Research Council’s Report 2020 highlights “aggressive subsidies aimed at the production of alternative energy sources” as a possibility.18 International research indicates that energy transition takes a long time and that other measures, such as subsidies to the development of new, green technology, can be effective.19  The Riksbank has a role to play An effective climate policy, i.e. taxes, emissions trading, tariffs and subsidies, falls within the framework of fiscal policy. Central banks cannot replace these types of measures, but that does not mean, in my opinion, that central banks do not have a role to play. On the contrary, several risks are created if central banks do not use the tools within their mandate to contribute to climate adaptation. First, if central banks ignore the climate issue, their own operations risk counteracting other climate policy.