Bank of Italy has published five new Occasional Papers (nn. 841-845).

• No. 845 – Improving the energy efficiency of homes in Italy:the state of the art and some considerations for public intervention
• No. 844 – Geoeconomic fragmentation and firms’ financial performance
• No. 843 – Quantum Computing winks at statistics. Is it a good match?
• No. 842 – Some considerations on the Phillips curve after the pandemic
• No. 841 – Understanding digital trade

Published the 2023 Annual Report on the Platform on Sustainable Finance

This report details the activities carried out throughout the year. The Platform, divided into four working groups (Gruppi di Lavoro – GDL), focused on three priorities: the identification and availability of data on climate and natural risks; sustainability reporting by unlisted small and medium-sized enterprises; and insurance protection against climate-related and environmental risks. Specifically:

• GDL 1 conducted an in-depth survey of the available databases and launched a pilot project on coastal flooding risk in Rimini. This project, in collaboration with the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change, the Italian Banking Association, and the voluntary participation of some banks, aims to identify methods and procedures for assessing the impact of physical risks on banks’ exposures.
• GDL 2 analysed the availability of data on the real estate assets of households and firms, focusing on energy efficiency. In 2024, it will implement a solution to improve and expand access to this data.
• GDL 3 created a template to help small and medium-sized enterprises, which are not required to report on sustainability, to identify ESG information for various economic actors, including financial system stakeholders. This template will soon be available for public consultation.
• GDL 4 examined the reasons for the limited availability of data on insurance coverage for the physical risks caused by natural disasters. It improved current information collection systems, analysed international insurance schemes to reduce underinsurance for such risks, and will continue to provide technical support for developing or implementing regulations to reduce the insurance protection gap for households and firms.

The Platform’s goal is to coordinate the efforts and initiatives of various institutions and Italy’s economic system, in order to develop and implement sustainable finance strategies and mobilize private resources through the capital market, thereby supporting the country’s commitments at European and international level.