Opinion: Central Banking’s Green Mission

Central banks must use their power to support a timely green transition, argue Professor Mariana Mazzucato, Dr Josh Ryan-Collins and PhD candidate Asker Voldsgaard (All UCL Institute for Innovation & Public Purpose). Since the 2008 global financial crisis, central banks have shown time and again that they have the power to maintain the economic status quo. Now, they must use that power to support a timely green transition. "Mission creep" - the gradual or incremental broadening of an organization's objectives beyond its original scope or focus - is typically regarded as undesirable. According to the conventional wisdom, an organization whose mission creeps is straying from its core purpose, becoming distracted, stretching itself too thin. But what if the new objectives are essential to society's welfare? For central banks, the answer should be obvious. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been labouring under enormous pressure to prevent a veto of the European Union's 2021-27 budget and Covid-19 recovery fund.