MNI BRIEF: BOJ Board Members For Climate Scheme  Flexibility

A few Bank of Japan board members said that the new lending measures to address climate change should be flexible since the external environment surrounding the issue is fluid at the June 17-18 policy-setting meeting, the minutes released on Wednesday said.

"Some members expressed the recognition that it was important for the Bank to act in line with its mandate and give consideration to market neutrality and avoid direct involvement in micro-level resource allocation as much as possible," the minutes said.

One member said, "in taking actions on climate change issues from the monetary policy side, it was necessary to thoroughly examine how this could affect price developments, among other factors."

"Some members expressed the recognition that the Bank's judgment of whether individual firms or businesses qualified as contributing to the green society would imply its direct involvement in micro-level resource allocation, and should therefore be avoided as much as possible," the minutes said.

"Some members pointed out that there were ongoing international discussions surrounding climate change issues, such as regarding taxonomy, and the situation could change significantly in the future," the minutes said.

The board agreed to release the outline of the new measures at the July meeting.