Turkish Central Bank to Set Up Climate Office to Gauge Risks

(Bloomberg) -- Turkey’s central bank is establishing a new department to identify risks and opportunities for the country’s financial system from climate change, after being the last major economy to sign a global agreement to lower emissions.

The monetary authority decided last week to form a “Green Economy and Climate Change” department, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter, who requested anonymity as the decision isn’t yet public. The central bank declined to comment.

In the lead up to the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Turkey became the last G-20 country to ratify the 2015 Paris accords. But Turkish officials said they would implement the agreement in a way that avoids the country making aggressive cuts in emissions, opposing its classification as a developed country that’s required to adopt a higher level of greenhouse gas reductions.

In September, the central bank led by Governor Sahap Kavcioglu, announced the establishment of a digital lira collaboration platform, which will conduct a pilot study until 2022.

Turkey’s Treasury is working on a framework that will allow it to sell bonds abroad for the first time with pricing tied to environmental and social goals.

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