Climate change is a major threat to financial stability and poverty alleviation. Financial regulators and policy makers are recognizing the urgent need to develop financial markets that are able to cope with climate-related risks and that, at the same time, support financial policies that help strengthen the resilience of the population. This resilience is especially crucial for the low-income and financially excluded populations that the financial inclusion sector serves: their livelihoods depend on activities most affected by climate change (such as agriculture, forestry and fisheries), and their countries are usually among the most exposed to climate change hazards and the less ready to face them. This session discussed how to best manage systemic climate-related risks as well as the policies that the financial inclusion sector should develop and support to strengthen the resilience of the sector itself and its clients.
