President Biden signed Executive Order to measure Climate Change Impacts

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On Thursday, US President Joe Biden signed an executive order compelling key regulators including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and other members of the Financial Stability Oversight Council to assess the risks that a changing climate poses to the US financial system. He needs the government to measure the financial fallout of a changing climate on American families, businesses, and the federal government. The order also suggests the Council make recommendations within 6-months on steps to reduce those risks. US National Climate Adviser, Gina McCarthy said, “Americans should be able to know the real risks that extreme weather and rising seas pose to the homes that they’ve invested in or the small businesses that they’ve built up. Knowing the risks is the first step to actually addressing them”.

The new executive order also directs McCarthy and National Economic Council director Brian Deese to highlight the financial risks that climate change poses to the government itself, including the financing that would be required to transition to a carbon-free economy over the next 3-decades. Deese said, “Our modern financial system was built on the assumption that the climate was stable. Today it’s clear that we no longer live in such a world”. However, US Labor Secretary Marty Walsh was directed to explore ways to protect those savings against the costs of climate change. It could involve rolling back a Trump-era rule designed to limit consideration of environmental and other social factors in choosing retirement investments.

It is noteworthy that President Biden also embraced a crowded room on Thursday after more than a year. President Biden presided over an indoor White House event for the first time since taking office. It featured a large crowd with 68 seated guests, along with a couple of dozen staff and journalists. The event was a ceremony in which Biden signed a bill designed to address a rise in hate crimes against Asian-Americans. It marked a return to normal after months of strict coronavirus restrictions that kept most visitors out of the White House and a Democratic presidential campaign defined by remote speeches and drive-through rallies. The event follows new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that vaccinated individuals can gather in most indoor settings without masks.