Tag Archives: Climate Change

News Release: Public Interest Groups Defend SEC’s Climate Risk Disclosure Rule

Today, a coalition of public interest organizations filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit defending the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against challenges to its final rule requiring public companies to disclose climate-related risks to their businesses and plans to manage or mitigate them. The SEC rule aligns with the growing consensus among investors and financial regulators in the U.S. and around the world that climate change poses significant risks to financial systems, and that securities regulators have an important role to play in mitigating those risks.

News Release: Treasury, FTC, and CFPB Announce Pivotal Interagency Effort to Promote Safer Solar Lending

The U.S. Department of the Treasury, Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced a critical interagency effort that aims to protect consumers from solar fraud and scams, clamp down on bad actors and practices in the industry, promote safe green lending that can benefit consumers and responsible solar businesses, and mitigate climate change. This move comes as more consumers are being marketed and offered loans and leases for green products and projects, due in part to new federal financial incentives that make them more affordable

Letters to the Regulators: Letter to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in Support of a Public Reporting Requirement

AFREF and 11 organizations submitted a comment letter to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) in support of a proposal to require public accounting firms to publicly report specified firm- and engagement-level metrics. If finalized, these metrics would provide investors, audit committees, and other stakeholders critical information to compare audit firms, make better-informed decisions, and enhance auditor accountability.

Letters to the Regulators: Letter to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners Outlining the Need for Public, Transparent, and National Data Collection on the Property and Casualty Insurance Market

AFR joined the Consumer Federation of America and 18 other civil rights, housing, and climate advocacy groups in writing this letter to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners regarding the need for a public, transparent, and national data collection on the property and casualty insurance market.

News Release: EPA’s $27 Billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund will Kick Start Green Investment in Low-Income and Disadvantaged Communities

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its final program of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF): Solar for All. Sixty recipients will be awarded $7 billion, with funds expected to roll out late this summer. Solar for All will create new or expand existing low-income residential and community solar programs in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and territories, and open up greater access to solar for Tribes through grants and low-cost financing.

Letters to Congress: Letter in Opposition to H.R. 5535, the “Insurance Data Protection Act” and the Congressional Review Act Resolutions Against the SEC’s Climate Financial Risk Disclosure Rule and the Climate-Related Financial Risk Management Principles

AFR and partners submitted a letter to the committee urging members to vote down a series of bills and resolutions that would roll back agency rules, guidance, and authorities to address climate-related financial risk.