Dealing with climate change has become an increasingly important issue in recent decades, including in the world of central banking. It is a topic being grappled with by different departments and areas of responsibility within central banks. A series of lectures entitled “Climate change and central banks” was launched in March 2023, with a view to allowing central banks to compare notes with one another. The series ran until mid-May and comprised eight talks. It covered a broad range of topics, from machine learning and artificial intelligence in the context of sustainability to the Eurosystem’s approach to decarbonising its corporate bond purchases. During the talks, Bundesbank experts from the Directorates General Banking Supervision, Financial Stability, Statistics and Markets presented their work on environmental issues. The series was aimed at central bank employees around the world wishing to broaden their knowledge on the topic of climate change as it pertains to the work of a central bank. The idea behind the series was to show how multi-faceted the topic is for central banks as well as others.

Charlotte Kimmel, senior advisor for financial stability at the Centre for International Central Bank Dialogue (CIC), was part of the team that brought the series into being and she is very happy with how it turned out: We are delighted that the new online series on climate change has been met with such eagerness. Remarking that those interested in attending were able to register separately for each presentation, she adds: We opted for short lectures lasting 60 to 90 minutes each. That means that they don’t take up a huge chunk of time for the speakers and those tuning in but there’s still enough room to shed a comprehensive light on the topic. It’s a concept which has been well received. Marcus Haas, senior advisor for banking supervision, is also convinced of the importance of such cross-departmental formats and is sure they will take on greater significance as time goes on. We’ve had a cross-departmental expert panel with a focus on “Green finance” on offer for a few years now and that’s been a success. The Green Series builds on that, giving our offering in that field more depth.

Planning under way for the topic “Central bank digital currency – the digital euro”

Having chalked up such positive experiences, the CIC has already begun work on the next series of lectures, with a series on central bank digital currency and the digital euro planned for 2024. Dr Thomas Goswin, senior CIC advisor and organiser of the series, is clear about the project and its relevance:This topic is a no-brainer really. There’s a huge amount of debate going on at the moment around the issuance of central bank digital currency. It may serve as a central bank response to PayPal and other digital currencies and means of payment. Central banks are keen to get together and talk about this topic. The new series on the digital euro is designed to provide a suitable platform for just such a dialogue. It is aimed at central banks wishing to keep up with the latest developments. Bundesbank experts from the Directorates General Financial Stability, Banking Supervision, Economics, Payments and Markets will share their thoughts on the topic. As with the series on climate change, the plan is to stage short online lectures at weekly intervals. 

Continuation of the “Cash management” lecture series 

There will also be an online series on “Cash management” in 2024. Previous years have already seen series of online events focusing on this core business area of central banks. A major advantage of this series, explains Thomas Langer, senior advisor for cash management at the CIC, is that it’s also possible to dip in and out, targeting your attendance to individual sessions on particular key topics. Managers and specialists are looking to access specific content tailored to their particular needs, especially when it comes to current developments. On top of that, you can attend without needing to travel anywhere and without eating up too much time. The approach is an efficient and sustainable one. And it has already been very well received over the last few years – as evidenced by the lively demand for seminar places and high numbers of participants. The new version of the series is slated to comprise five two-day events.

Further information will be published on our website and in the CIC newsletter.