Since the end of 2017, the carbon footprint of the foreign exchange reserves has decreased from 305,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per billion dollars of GDP to 298,000 tonnes, which is a decrease of two per cent (see Figure 6). The biggest decline occurred between 2018 and 2019, mainly due to the fall in carbon dioxide emissions for almost all countries in the foreign exchange reserves in 2019.

Figure 6. Development of the carbon footprint of the foreign exchange reserves Tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents emitted per billion dollars of GDP

For the calculations of the carbon footprint in the years 2020 to 2022, reported greenhouse gas emissions data for 2019 are used in the absence of more recent data. Emissions data are reported with a time lag of a year or so, which means that it will take some time before the actual footprint for these years can be calculated. In addition, it should be mentioned that the Riksbank had relatively more holdings in bank accounts and holdings in short-term interest-bearing securities issued by BIS at the end of the years 2020 and 2021, mainly in US dollars but also in euros. The reason was that the Riksbank increased its preparedness to use the foreign exchange reserves because of the corona pandemic by selling U.S. and German government bonds in particular. As a result, the proportion of bonds issued by states and regions at market value was relatively lower for these two years than for the other years (see note to Figure 6).