AFR led a letter signed by 45 environmental justice, energy, consumer, housing, and other organizations urging federal agencies to (1) require consumer protection plans for green lending products across all federal programs, and (2) provide oversight and enforcement around existing consumer protection laws which apply to these products.
The letter lays out:
- Common challenges with green lending products
- How a lack of proactive consumer protection plans and requirements could not only cause financial harm to consumers, but could also reduce public trust in clean energy technologies and undermine federal efforts to expand their uptake to combat climate change
- Consumer protection principles for green lending products
- High-level recommendations for the agencies
A PDF of the memo can be found here.
Additionally, 20,979 consumers (and counting) urge the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, Department of the Treasury, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Federal Trade Commission to work together to protect consumers from unscrupulous financial scammers and to set the standard that green lending programs offered by governments, nonprofits, lenders, or utilities remain affordable, transparent, and accountable to safely and equitably expand access to green lending products to all consumers.