German government ramps up ‘Carbon Bubble’ research into climate change and financial stability

A second German government body is undertaking a study into climate change and financial stability.

The German Environmental Protection Agency (the Umweltbundesamt, or UBA) will commission a report titled Carbon Bubble – analysis, economic risks, measures and instruments tomorrow. The deadline for the Request for Proposal (RFP) was last week, RI understands.

The research is set to dovetail with a study currently underway within the German Finance Ministry: Possible Impacts of Climate Change on the Stability of Financial Markets. Environmental consulting firm South Pole is assessing stranded asset risk, carbon pricing options and other mechanisms for that report, which is slated to be published in September.

The Agency is under the jurisdiction of Federal Ministry for the Environmental, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.It advises governmental institutions and informs the general public on matters relating to the environment.

A spokesperson for the Ministry told RI that the latest study “is supposed to contribute to analysing and assessing the financial risks attached to investments in fossil energy sources and greenhouse gas intensive product lines”.

This is the latest in a wave of government departments across Europe that have commissioned research into the financial implications of climate change. Last September, the Swiss Federal Office for the Environmental undertook research on the carbon footprints of the country’s equity funds, looking at the potential costs of those emissions under different carbon pricing scenarios. Denmark has also conducted research in this field, published earlier this year.