Trump Administration Financial Regulators Push to Rollback Global Climate Risk Measures
U.S. regulators seek a weakening of key Basel committee task force
WASHINGTON — High-level U.S. financial regulators are working to weaken an international task force established to examine and address risks climate change poses to the financial system. The task force was set up by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in 2020. The U.S. proposal to dilute the task force’s power is set to be discussed at a meeting of top central bank governors and financial supervisors on Monday. In response, Anne Perrault, senior finance policy counsel with Public Citizen’s Climate Program, issued the following statement:
“The Trump Administration is dangerously pretending the U.S. is safe from significant climate-related financial harm and not in need of allies to address the existential threats posed by climate change. These climate-related financial risks are tied to limits in our Earth’s capacity to assimilate greenhouse gas emissions, and can’t be addressed without the kind of global cooperation and prominence afforded by the task force.
“Recent devastating climate-driven events—including floods in North Carolina, wildfires in California, and tornadoes in the midwest—are quickly eroding Americans’ first-line defenses against broader and deeper financial harms. Insurance company departures are quietly exposing US families to much graver threats, including difficulties accessing credit to pay bills and buy homes, higher taxes, and broader financial instability. It’s profoundly worrying that U.S. financial regulators are weakening the alliance necessary to address these concerns.”
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