Climate Change Archives - Americans for Financial Reform

News Release: EPA’s Initial Guidance on $27 Billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund will Provide Health, Economic, and Wealth-Building Benefits to Communities

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its initial program design guidance for the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GHGRF or “fund”). This key environmental justice and climate provision of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act will help provide direct investment toward climate mitigation and resilience projects in communities across the country.

Letters to Regulators: FAR Council Should Strengthen Climate Risk Disclosure for Federal Contractors

Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund joined Public Citizen in submitting a comment to the Federal Acquisition Regulation Council on its recent rule: Disclosure of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate-Related Financial Risk. The rule represents an important step forward in protecting the security of federal government supply

Letters and Statements: Letter to IOSCO on Voluntary Carbon Market Oversight

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) seeks comment on a Voluntary Carbon Markets Discussion Paper issued to advance the discussion about what sound and efficient Voluntary Carbon Markets should look like and what role financial regulators may play in promoting integrity in those markets. Americans for Financial

Letters to Regulators: Federal Reserve Must Finalize Climate Guidance for Banks with Strong Fair Lending Protections

Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund (AFREF) submitted letters to the Federal Reserve Board on its recent climate guidance for large banks. A coalition letter signed by 24 organizations urged the Fed to include enhanced safeguards and monitoring around fair lending violations, racial and economic

In The News: SEC Considers Easing Climate-Disclosure Rules After Investor Pushback (The Wall Street Journal)

A 1% threshold for all line-items in companies’ financial statements is “not the hill I would die on,” said Alex Martin, a senior policy analyst for climate at Americans for Financial Reform, which advocates for tougher financial regulation.

a dollar bill on top of a pile of money with scrabble pieces spelling out "tax" on top

News Release: Chevron Mega-Stock Buybacks Program Shows Need for Tougher Rules

Washington, D.C. – The announcement that Chevron will spend $75 billion on stock buybacks underscores the urgency of reinforcing a measure Congress created last year to penalize companies that engage in a financial practice that amplifies rampant wealth inequality, and in this case boosts the bottom line of a climate-harming industry.

News Release: Fed Releases Inadequate Inaugural Climate Test for Big Banks

The Federal Reserve pilot climate scenario analysis to spur six major U.S. banks to evaluate their climate risks represents a necessary step towards getting these financial institutions to understand their transition risks and the severe physical threats on their residential and commercial real estate portfolios. But there needs to be a more assertive approach to how megabanks manage their climate risks.

Factsheets: Climate Vulnerability and Banking

Climate change is a risk multiplier that exacerbates racial and economic inequality, and it is progressing at an alarming rate. Acute and increasingly frequent climate-related disasters, such as wildfires and hurricanes, as well as chronic issues such as heat stress, sea level rise, and drought,

Letters to Regulators: Letter in Support of FIO’s Proposed Climate-Related Financial Risk Data Collection

AFREF led comments to the Federal Insurance Office in support of their proposed “Climate-Related Financial Risk Data Collection” from insurers. AFREF supports this data collection because the increasingly prevalent and severe weather hazards caused by climate change pose a massive threat to the housing stability, affordability, and safety of Americans nationwide. Purchasing insurance policies is one of the few actions individuals can take to protect their property from the effects of climate-driven natural disasters. Therefore, the cost and availability of insurance is deeply related to a household’s monthly housing costs and their ability to recover from damages following severe weather.

Letters to Regulators: EPA Must Maximize Benefits For Low-Income and Disadvantaged Communities With Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund

Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund (AFREF) submitted two comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in response to their request for information on the administration and implementation of the $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GHGRF), a provision of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)