Economic research and sustainability statistics

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Banca d'Italia carries out intensive research and analysis on and contributing to statistical production on the economic and financial effects of climate change, on the functioning and development of energy markets and, more generally, on the effects of the transition to a more environmentally sustainable economy.

On this page, we will examine:

Objectives

Research, analysis and statistical production in the climate-change field help Banca d'Italia take positions in the context of its institutional activities: monetary policy through the participation of the Governor in the ECB Governing Council, financial stability policies, collaboration in the main international institutions and bodies, and the assessment of economic policy proposals, in particular by providing opinions requested by Parliament and the Government.

Research and statistics also improve understanding of the effects of climate change on the Italian economy and awareness of the importance of measuring and managing sustainability profiles in the financial choices of public and private investors.

By participating in the main international statistical initiatives, Banca d'Italia contributes to the standardization of the methodologies for processing information on environmental sustainability, and promotes the use of harmonized and granular information sources as well as the improvement of the quality and comparability of the indicators produced at European and international level.

Activities and results

The growing importance for Banca d'Italia of issues relating to environmental sustainability and the green transition is demonstrated by the commitment set out in the Strategic Plan for 2023-25 to expand economic research in these sectors, in cooperation with external institutions and the academic community.

Research activity is focused on five main areas: implications of the ecological transition for the real economy and its growth prospects; analysis of the structure of energy markets and price formation mechanisms; strengthening models for analysis and forecasting; design and evaluation of economic policies (national and supranational); and sustainable finance and the riskiness of banking activities.

Research in the climate and energy field is disseminated through Banca d'Italia's scientific series ('Working Papers' and 'Occasional Papers'), essays and articles published in specialized journals and discussed at conferences and seminars organized by the Bank and other bodies.

For more information:

The ESG paradigm and the climate imperative. Regulatory and policy challenges for the banking sector

The effects of climate change on the Italian economy

Indicators and data for assessing environmental and climate-related risks

The development of indicators for a correct analysis of environmental and climate-related risks for the economic and financial system requires the availability of suitably granular (sectoral and geographical), good quality data.

As part of the activities carried out at international level, Banca d'Italia contributes, among other things, to the development of the ESCB climate change-related indicators, new experimental indicators on green securities issuances and holdings, and exposure of financial intermediaries to physical and transition risks.

Furthermore, the Bank's researchers have been studying the difference between the data needed (also based on regulators' requests) for these assessments and those actually available for some time: the difference between the two is usually defined as the sustainable data gap.

Studies - 2025

Studies - 2024

Studies - 2023

Studies - 2022

Studies - Earlier

Conferences