Investor and business groups have welcomed the first major speech on climate change by the Reserve Bank of Australia, a move seen as "completing the trifecta" of major financial regulators to highlight the potential risks.

In a speech on Tuesday evening to the Centre for Policy Development in Sydney, Guy Debelle, the RBA's deputy governor, warned of "first-order economic effects" to the economy from both "the physical impact of climate change" and the transition away from fossil fuels.

Guy Debelle, deputy governor of the Reserve Bank, has expressed concerns. Credit:Bloomberg

"We are trying to learn and benefit as much as possible from the expertise of others to understand and contribute to the discussion around the serious challenge of climate change," Dr Debelle concluded.

Ken Morrison, chief executive of the Property Council, said the RBA was "absolutely right to flag the economic challenge of climate change".