Tag: Federal Reserve

The Fed Faces Criticism as It Wades Into Climate and Equity Issues

New York Times: The Fed Faces Criticism as It Wades Into Climate and Equity Issues. The Federal Reserve is proudly politically independent. That makes key discussions around climate change and racial inequity a balancing act.

In mid-2019, Jerome H. Powell fielded a question from reporters that he often faced in those days: Were politics, and particularly a pressure campaign coming from Donald J. Trump’s White House to cut interest rates, influencing the Federal Reserve’s policy stance?

Mr. Powell, the central bank chair, tried as he had for months to convince the public that he and his colleagues were not bowing to the Republican administration. “We never take into account political considerations,” he said.

The Daily Climate, March 18, 2921

Articles include:  Republicans warn Federal Reserve against assessing climate risk in financial system;    The EPA restores climate change website deleted under Trump;  Study: Ocean emissions from bottom trawling are equivalent to global aviation;  Scientists claim feeding cows seaweed could slash their methane emissions by a staggering 82 percent;   Nearly half the U.S. is in drought that’s expected to grow worse: NOAA;   Inside clean energy: Where can we put all those wind turbines?

Federal Reserve Warns Of Climate Risks, In Historic First

Forbes discusses why the Federal Reserve Warns Of Climate Risks, In Historic First.

Days after Joe Biden’s contentious presidential win, the U.S. Federal Reserve – known as one of America’s most conservative institutions – acknowledged for the first time the financial risks of climate change in its biannual financial stability report. In comments attached to the publication, Fed Governor Lael Brainard said the following:

“Acute hazards, such as storms, floods, or wildfires, may cause investors to update their perceptions of the value of real or financial assets suddenly…slow increases in mean temperatures or sea levels, or a gradual change in investor sentiment about those risks, introduce the possibility of abrupt tipping points or significant swings in sentiment.”