The European Central Bank said in a press release dated 15 June 2026 that carbon emissions linked to the ECB and Eurosystem portfolios declined further, as it published its climate-related financial disclosures for the fourth time.
WHAT THE ECB REPORTED
The ECB released results on emissions associated with portfolios it controls and those of the wider Eurosystem, saying measured emissions had fallen compared with prior reporting. It said the Eurosystem remained on track in 2025 to meet its interim emissions reduction targets, set on a relative carbon intensity basis, for the corporate bonds it holds for monetary policy purposes.
The ECB said the fall in absolute emissions was mainly driven by the ongoing run-off of the Eurosystem's monetary policy portfolios and the ECB's foreign reserves, which shrank by 13% in 2025. It also warned that, because the run-off means it cannot keep tilting reinvestments towards issuers with better climate performance, further emissions reductions will depend on issuers themselves cutting their emissions. In the ECB's own funds portfolio, the share of green bonds rose to 33% at the end of 2025, channelling EUR 7.6 billion towards the green transition, and the ECB aims to raise it to 35% in 2026.
CONTEXT AND CENTRAL BANK CLIMATE RESPONSES
The disclosures cover the Eurosystem's monetary policy portfolios, the ECB's foreign reserves and its non-monetary policy portfolios, including its staff pension fund and own funds portfolio. In the staff pension fund, the relative carbon footprint of corporate assets declined further in 2025.
The ECB's press release noted that it was reporting inflation-adjusted emissions metrics for the first time, because higher inflation can overstate the pace of reduction by increasing the nominal revenue used to calculate carbon intensity, and that it was also disclosing relative metrics for the scope 3 emissions of non-sovereign holdings for the first time. The ECB said the inflation-adjusted metrics correct for apparent improvements driven by rising prices and reflect real decarbonisation.
The ECB said that, within its mandate, it remains committed to taking climate change and nature degradation into account in its policies and operations.
The ECB also again reported on the exposure of its portfolios to sectors with material dependencies or impacts on nature, as identified by the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, and said it intends to expand its nature-related disclosures over time.
Sources: ECB Press Releases