By Ketki Saxena
Investing.com -- At a keynote speech yesterday to the Alberta Relaunch conference in Calgary, Former Bank of Canada and Bank of England Governor Mark Carney warned of an “uncomfortably high” risk of recession in the United States and globally.
However, Mr. Carney also believes that a recession, though likely, will be significantly milder than the financial crisis of 2008, “because there aren’t the same imbalances in the US economy... The banks are not in as precarious a situation, and there is not the same oversupply of houses and cars. Meanwhile, consumer finances are not in as rough shape as 2008.”
Mr. Carney was governor of the Bank of Canada during the 2008-2009 crisis, and his policy decisions at that time are accredited with helping the Canadian economy avoid the worst impacts of the financial crisis.
Mr. Carney also believes that “Canada is likely to fare better in a slowdown than most other countries”, and that the country is in a “better position than virtually every other country”.
The former BoC and BoE governor believes Canada is well-positioned to take advantage of global energy systems that are shifting to lower-carbon sources, with “the potential to have the benefit of what’s needed in the reworking of the energy system and the transition.”
Mr. Carney's currently serves as the United Nations Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance, mobilizing a coalition of global major banks, insurers and asset managers to align investment strategies with the goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. He also co-manages an energy transition impact fund for Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management (TSX:BAMa).