Hungary's highest banking authority has warned that climate change poses a threat to global economic growth. At a conference in Budapest, the governor of the country's central bank said the impact of climate change is already being felt, and banks and financial institutions should be focused on protecting the environment.

"We badly need new financial, geopolitical approaches ... and at the same time we have to face climate change challenges," said György Matolcsy. It comes as policymakers and banking bosses worldwide are increasingly accepting that protecting the environment should be a responsibility of the financial system. 

Hundreds of analysts and market participants heard Matolcsy as he stressed the importance of being able to weather economic and ecological crises. Many of those attending the conference agreed with the banking chief that future economic growth relied on sustainability.

"We have to think about how the future can be lived, without pollution, without the excessive use of energies and we have to employ all the means to support the economy being greener," said one attendee of the conference. Matolcsy's speech coincides with this year's World Economic Forum (WEF) conference in Davos, Switzerland. The WEF's annual list of top five risks facing the world this year were all environmental issues.

Csaba Lentner, an economist at the National University of Public Governance, added that the Hungarian economy is booming. "The Hungarian economy is strong, the GDP grows quarter after quarter and we have a stable budget balance," he said. 

But, while that may be the case now, according to the central bank governor, the effects of climate change are looming large. "It's happening now, it's happening and we are probably just at the beginning of the whole cycle," said Matolcsy.