This means that we will assess the effects of these measures and adapt them, if necessary: (1) to confirm that they continue to fulfil their monetary policy objectives; (2) to ensure – within our mandate – that the relevant measures continue to support the decarbonisation path to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement and the EU climate neutrality objectives; (3) to respond to future improvements in climate data and climate risk modelling or changes in regulation; and (4) to look beyond climate and address additional environmental challenges, within our mandate. While I understand it is not a specific topic covered in today's conference, a similar commitment to fully incorporate climate-related and environmental risks applies to our banking supervision tasks and responsibilities. In addition to the climate stress test that was concluded by ECB Banking Supervision earlier this year, we will soon publish the results of our thematic review. As part of this exercise, our core banking supervision teams – Joint Supervisory Teams – thoroughly assessed to what extent banks' risk management practices for climate-related and environmental risks live up to the supervisory expectations we published in 2020. We conducted this exercise to assess where banks stand with regard to our expectations and to highlight any gaps they urgently need to close. We will also take the opportunity to identify and share best practices to help banks close any gaps identified.
Even if in the very near-term the energy crisis may cause an increase in non-gas fossil fuel being used, the likelihood of a timely and orderly transition towards a low-carbon economy consistent with the EU's commitment to the Paris Agreement has increased. That being said, another record-breaking summer has confirmed that physical risks of climate change and environmental degradation are materialising ever more frequently, which will add to the risk of increased macroeconomic volatility until the transition has been completed. When the boat we all share is rocked to such an extent by external forces, we need to be able to count on internal anchors of stability. The ECB provides one of those crucial internal anchors by pursuing its mandate of maintaining price stability in the euro area as laid down in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. In line with that mandate, our primary concern is, as always, our primary objective: price stability. Inflation is currently far too high. The shocks that are hitting the euro area economy have not only led to a turning point in the outlook for economic activity but are also contributing to further upward price pressures that are much stronger and more persistent than we previously anticipated. This implies that inflation is likely to stay above our 2% target for an extended period. As a result, we accelerated the pace of monetary policy normalisation over the summer to ensure that monetary policy is consistent with inflation returning to our target in the medium term.