A Climate for Investors. Climate Scenarios in the Network for Greening the Financial System

A growing body of scholarly contributions has shown how environmental issues are being “financialised”, as financial actors problematise the environment and the climate as a question of financial valuation. But what effects are their valuation processes having on financial and economic knowledge? By considering the case of the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS), I show how central bank economists are trying to create a “climate for investors” out of climate change, defining climate scenarios that give banks incentives to finance low-carbon activities and thus encourage the transition to a “good global economy”. I argue that NGFS economists are doing boundary work that treads a path, carefully highlighting certain threats of climate change for an audience of investors, without losing their legitimacy or running the risk of appearing to be political actors. In doing so, these central bank economists are also transforming their understanding of what makes up national economies.