ECB's Schnabel opposes pumping cash into green assets, Boersen-Zeitung reports

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank should not favor so-called “green” assets in its multi-trillion-euro bond-buying program or its work as bank supervisor, incoming ECB board member Isabel Schnabel said in an interview published on Monday.

Schnabel, a German economist who will join the ECB on Jan. 1, said using the central bank’s bond purchases, aimed at boosting inflation, to finance the fight against climate change could tie Frankfurt’s hands if it wanted to stop the scheme.

“I would find it rather problematic if the ECB were to favor green bonds as part of its bond purchase programs,” she told the German newspaper Boersen-Zeitung. “We should not forget that the central bank needs the flexibility to reverse monetary policy if necessary.”

Her views contrasted with those of Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, who told BBC radio that financial services weren’t doing enough to discourage investment in fossil fuels. He called for a mix of public investment and change driven to combat climate change.

Schnabel also opposed giving green assets preferential treatment when they are accepted as collateral for ECB loans or when setting risk weights for banks, arguing they can be risky, too, and doing so would destabilize the financial system.

EU states failed to agree on what qualifies as a green asset earlier this month, making the ECB’s involvement even more difficult.

Climate change is one of the topics of a strategic review that the ECB will carry out in the coming year, along with a reassessment of the inflation target, currently set below, but close to 2%.

Schnabel said the goal should be clarified but saw little value in changing it or creating a range around it, as suggested by some commentators and fellow policy makers.

“It seems at least questionable whether this would bring more clarity,” she said.