It examines their role in the face of climate and sustainability challenges and provides an overview of the current debates between two opposing positions: on the one hand, an approach that views ecological sustainability as a prerequisite for macrofinancial stability, thereby justifying an expansion of the role of central banks; and, on the other, a more orthodox approach that warns of the risks of “mission creep” and the dilution of the mandate focused on price stability.

These debates point to fundamental choices regarding the embedding of monetary institutions within the socioeconomic order, the definition of the “common good,” and the relationship between central bank independence, democratic accountability, and coordination with other instruments of economic policy.”