Irene Heemskerk

Irene Heemskerk joined the European Central Bank in June 2021 to head the Climate Change Centre. She is responsible for shaping and steering the ECB’s climate agenda internally and externally. Irene also represents the ECB in the Central Banks and Supervisors’ Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS), is an Observer to the EFRAG Sustainability Board and is member of the TIME magazine 2030 Committee Advising on Solutions for the Future.

Prior to joining the ECB, Irene was involved as a Sustainability Fellow in the work of the IFRS Foundation on setting up a Sustainability Standards Board. From 2005 until 2020, Irene held various positions at De Nederlandsche Bank. As advisor to the Chair, she was involved in the work of the NGFS from its launch in 2017 and led the work of the first publication of the NGFS on supervisory practices addressing climate-related and environmental risks. Irene holds a master’s degree in international and European law from Leiden University.