BDE to host water and financial stability conference
The Banco de España will host an international conference on water and financial stability on May 21-22. The high-level meeting, co-convened by the OECD, NGFS, and CDP, will analyze macroeconomic and financial risks from water scarcity.
Mapping water's financial fault lines
The upcoming international conference at the Banco de España will delve into the multifaceted macroeconomic and financial risks posed by water scarcity, variability, and quality.
Senior representatives from central banks, financial authorities, international organizations, financial institutions, and the business and insurance sectors, alongside academic researchers, will convene to address these critical issues.
The agenda is set to cover a broad spectrum of topics, including specific sectoral vulnerabilities to water stress, the implications for sovereign debt exposures, and the potential impact on price stability.
Discussions will also focus on developing effective supervisory responses and identifying existing insurance protection gaps related to water-related risks.
The primary objective is to collectively enhance the understanding of water as a systemic financial stability risk and to explore robust measures capable of strengthening the resilience of both economic and financial systems against these emerging challenges.
A global call for resilience
This high-level meeting is a collaborative initiative, jointly convened by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System (NGFS), and CDP.
It forms an integral part of the ongoing work of the OECD Roundtable on Financing Water, underscoring a concerted global effort to integrate water-related risks into mainstream financial discourse.
The involvement of such prominent international bodies highlights the growing recognition that water issues transcend traditional environmental concerns, demanding a coordinated, multi-stakeholder approach to safeguard global financial stability.
The conference aims to translate this recognition into concrete strategies for risk mitigation and resilience building.
Water: The next systemic risk
This conference marks a significant step in acknowledging water as a critical, systemic financial stability risk, moving beyond its traditional environmental framing.
It underscores the urgent need for financial institutions and regulators to integrate water-related exposures into risk management frameworks and supervisory practices.
The collaborative effort signals a growing consensus that proactive measures are essential to build resilience against a threat with far-reaching economic consequences.