The global energy crisis highlights the need for a massive surge in clean energy investment The global energy crisis is fueling fierce debate around the world over which new energy projects should or shouldn’t go ahead. Conversations about energy and investment often fail to take into account the considerable lag between investment decisions and when projects actually go live. At the International Energy Agency (IEA), we warned years ago that global investment in clean energy and energy efficiency was not sufficient...

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On November 3rd, the European Commission is launching the third call for large-scale projects under the EU Innovation Fund. With a budget doubled to €3 billion thanks to increased revenue from the auctioning of EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) allowances, this 2022 call for large-scale projects will boost the deployment of industrial solutions to decarbonise Europe. With a special focus on the priorities of the REPowerEU Plan, the call will provide additional support towards ending the EU's dependence on...

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If we do not account for the impact of climate change on our economy, we risk missing a crucial part in our work to keep prices stable, argues Christine Lagarde in the ECB Blog. This is the second entry in a series of climate related entries on the occasion of COP27. A year ago, in his speech at COP26 in Glasgow, Sir David Attenborough asked us: “Is this how our story is due to end? A tale of the smartest...

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We need strong rules for strong banks. Basel III has what it takes. But planned EU laws might fall behind international standards, write ECB Vice-President Luis de Guindos, ECB Supervisory Chair Andrea Enria and EBA Chairperson José Manuel Campa in a joint Blog post The EU banking package matters now more than ever. We need to stick to our global commitments, faithfully implement Basel III and strengthen supervisory powers. We call on the co-legislators to focus on the resilience of...

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The devastation and destruction of climate change will only worsen if we fail to act now Just this year we’ve seen the increasingly devastating effects of climate change—human tragedy and economic upheaval with typhoons in Bangladesh, unprecedented floods in Pakistan, heatwaves in Europe, wildfires in North America, dry rivers in China, and droughts in Africa. This will only get worse if we fail to act. If global warming continues, scientists predict even more devasting disasters and long-term disruption to weather patterns that...

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Keynote speech by Fabio Panetta, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the ECB Money Market Conference | The euro area is facing a sequence of unprecedented supply shocks resulting from the pandemic and Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. These shocks have compounded each other and caused the current spike in inflation. Price pressures have broadened as firms have sought to pass higher costs on to consumers as the economy reopened. As a result, the ECB has accelerated the adjustment...

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Banks must adapt the way they do business to account for climate-related and environmental risks. The ECB Blog takes a fresh look at their progress and the road ahead. This is the first post in a series of climate-related entries on the occasion of COP27. The economy needs stable banks, especially as it goes through the green transition. As supervisors, our role is to ensure that banks remain prudentially sound, now and long into the future. For this to happen,...

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Tomorrow, the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) will enter into force. The new Regulation will put an end to unfair practices by companies that act as gatekeepers in the online platform economy. It was proposed by the Commission in December 2020 and agreed by the European Parliament and the Council in record-time, in March 2022. The DMA defines when a large online platform qualifies as a “gatekeeper”. These are digital platforms that provide an important gateway between business users and...

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Tighter credit terms and conditions offered by banks to counterparties, mainly attributed to deterioration in general market liquidity and functioning Higher maximum amount of funding but shorter maximum maturity against domestic government bonds Deterioration in liquidity conditions continued for most collateral types Higher initial margin requirements for most OTC derivative types, especially commodity derivatives On balance, overall credit terms and conditions tightened over the June-August 2022 review period across all counterparty types. Price terms tightened for all counterparty types,...

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High Representative/Vice President Josep Borrell will travel to Latin America, the third time of his current mandate, starting in Uruguay on 24 October and continuing to Argentina from 25 October. His mission aims to further strengthen both bilateral and regional relations, in particular through co-chairing the EU-CELAC Foreign Ministers Meeting which will pave the way for further high-level bi-regional engagement in view of a summit next year. In Uruguay, the High Representative will meet President Luis Lacalle Pou on 24...

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