Good practices for climate and nature risk management

Good practices for climate and nature risk management / ECB 2026

ID 26639 | 08.07.2026

Observations from the ECB’s fiveyear climate and nature risk programme (2020-25)

With the publication of the ECB Guide on climate-related and environmental (C&E) risks (“the Guide”) in November 2020, the ECB set out the view that institutions should take a strategic, forward-looking and comprehensive approach to considering climate and nature (C&N) risks.

Institutions were then asked in early 2021 to perform a self-assessment of their current practices against the expectations set out in the Guide and to inform the ECB of their implementation plans to improve the management of C&N risks.

In 2022 the ECB launched a thematic review, which involved conducting deep dives into institutions’ C&N risk strategies, as well as their governance and risk management frameworks and processes.

Following these exercises, the ECB set institutionspecific deadlines for achieving full alignment with its expectations by the end of 2024.

During this thematic review, the ECB identified a set of good practices for the management of C&N risks. These were drawn from a range of significant institutions with different business models and sizes. Since then, European institutions have made significant strides in addressing the risks stemming from the ongoing climate and nature crises. Institutions now have an increasing number of advanced practices in place to identify, monitor and manage C&N risks (Chart 1).

The European Banking Authority’s Guidelines on the management of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) risks (EBA Guidelines on the management of ESG risks) have been applicable to institutions other than small and non-complex institutions since 11 January 2026.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) highlights that “the Guidelines specify requirements regarding the internal processes and ESG risk management arrangements that institutions should have in place in accordance with the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD6)” - Direttiva UE 2024/1619.

Some of the C&N risk management capabilities further articulated in these Guidelines already featured in the ECB’s 2022 thematic review and the subsequent monitoring of follow-up deadlines.
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European Central Banck May 2026

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