The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) published opening remarks by Deputy Governor and Prudential Authority Chief Executive Officer Fundi Tshazibana at the SARB–Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) Research Conference, arguing that climate and nature-related risks are already material for financial stability and that effective responses require coordinated action across government, regulators and central banks. The address pointed to worsening physical risk indicators, including World Meteorological Organization and Copernicus estimates that 2025 global average temperatures were about 1.44°C above pre-industrial levels and that the 2023–2025 average reached 1.48°C, alongside an upgrade of ‘Large-Scale Singular Events’ tipping-point risk from ‘moderate’ to ‘high’. It also highlighted 2024 global economic losses from natural disasters of USD 320 billion, nearly 40% above the previous decade’s average, linking the losses to a withdrawal of insurance coverage in high-risk areas and an emerging insurance ‘protection gap’. Tshazibana framed progress on greening financial markets and developing frameworks to manage climate-driven inflation as constrained by broader government decisions, such as energy policies that continue to favour coal, and by simultaneous structural shocks from artificial intelligence, digitalisation and geoeconomic fragmentation, which can introduce ‘black box’ risks and persistent supply shocks that complicate monetary policy transmission and risk oversight. The remarks also cited misalignment in climate-related policymaking, including International Energy Agency projections that oil and gas demand will rise over the next 25 years under current policies and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development findings that only three of 24 countries have clear mandates to enhance national policy coherence for sustainable development. The NGFS Annual Plenary programme was positioned as a forum to compare approaches and to explore practical ways regulators can scale green markets and unlock sustainable investment.
South African Reserve Bank 2026-03-11
South African Reserve Bank calls for stronger policy coordination to build climate resilience amid AI and geopolitical fragmentation
The South African Reserve Bank's Deputy Governor Fundi Tshazibana stressed at the SARB–Network for Greening the Financial System Research Conference that climate and nature-related risks are impacting financial stability, requiring coordinated action. Tshazibana noted worsening physical risk indicators, economic losses from natural disasters, and challenges in greening financial markets. The NGFS Annual Plenary was highlighted as a platform for discussing scaling green markets and enhancing sustainable investment.