The central bank lacuna in green state transformation

Abstract

The scholarship on green state transformation has harnessed debates on the empirical and ideal transformations of the state in the Anthropocene, but central banks have thus far been elided from analysis. In this article, we draw into focus central banks as pronounced, if ill-considered, features of green state transformations in both theory and practice. Central banks exemplify the intractability, incrementalism and limitations of actually existing green state transformations. Yet simultaneously, these institutions of economic governance are, at least theoretically, vital constituents of fully fledged green states. In addressing the central bank lacuna in the analysis of green state transformation, we propose a research agenda at the intersection of environmental and monetary politics that centres on (i) the institutional variation and convergence of central banks across the global economy, (ii) the political-economic and institutional constraints on green institutional transformation, and (iii) the theoretical constituents and operations of a truly ‘green’ central bank.