The Riksbank rejects issuers with a large climate footprint I believe it is better to instead focus on the issuers, and to make an overall assessment of how they work to promote a sustainable climate. Indicators of this could be, for instance, their greenhouse gas emissions. This is how we are now beginning to give consideration to sustainability in our new risk and investment policy. We will not invest in assets issued by issuers with a large climate footprint when we are choosing other assets than those best corresponding to our policy need. This has some consequences for the holdings in our foreign exchange reserves. The Riksbank has invested around 8 per cent of the foreign exchange reserves in Australian and Canadian central and federal government bonds, as they give relatively high yield and a good diversification of risk, at the same time as being traded on liquid markets. But Australia and Canada are countries that are not known for good climate work. Greenhouse gas emissions per capita are among the highest in the world, but vary considerably between the different states. For instance, greenhouse gas intensity is more than three times higher in production in Alberta than in Ontario and Quebec. As a result of the new investment policy, we sold our holdings of bonds issued by Alberta in the spring. For the same reason, we have recently sold our holdings in bonds issued by the Australian states of Queensland and Western Australia.
How is the Riksbank’s work affected by climate change and how can the Riksbank contribute to greener financial markets? The economy changes The international economic playing field has changed in many ways in recent years. Let me give some examples: •  The geopolitical situation has deteriorated and nationalistic tendencies have become more common. This has led to increased protectionism and new  Many employees have contributed valuable comments on the first draft of this speech. I would like to thank in particular Iida Häkkinen Skans, Björn Lagerwall, Åsa Olli Segendorf, Rebecka Hallerby and Marianne Sterner. *  1 [7]  • •  •  •  trade barriers. After many decades of increased international trade and international capital flows, globalisation has now taken a step back. 1 China has emerged as an increasingly important actor on the world market. This has led, for instance, to increased saving in the world economy and contributed to lower interest rates. 2 Life expectancy has increased and we anticipate spending a longer period in retirement. Population growth is falling in the major economies. As a result, GDP growth and investment needs are lower, but we wish to save more. All of this contributes to lower interest rates. Digitalisation means that we do our shopping in new ways. E-commerce is becoming increasingly common and websites for price comparison are used regularly. Consumption is shifting from goods to services and experiences, often with low marginal costs in production.