Please join the Center for American Progress and Sierra Club for the launch of important new research revealing the enormous size of carbon emissions financed by the largest banks and asset managers in the United States and a discussion of actions the Biden administration can take to curtail this problem before the carbon bubble bursts.
During U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP26), financial institutions and governments all over the world made unprecedented pledges and commitments to reduce financed emissions and begin to address climate-related financial risk. Now that the dust has settled, the real work of implementing these commitments begins. What will this mean for the Biden administration? Will President Joe Biden’s financial regulators endeavor to reign in banks and other financial institutions that continue to fund fossil fuels and other high-carbon-emitting industries or leave the U.S. economy and financial system at risk of another crisis?
We invite you to join us for a discussion on the magnitude of emissions financed by the largest U.S. banks and asset managers. According to Bloomberg, Wall Street has a “$22 Trillion Carbon Time Bomb” that risks jeopardizing financial health of all firms that continue to finance carbon-intensive industries. While existing data already demonstrate the outsize role that U.S. financial institutions play in financing high-carbon-emitting industries globally, this research provides important detail to illustrate the current scope of the problem. Additionally, the report outlines the necessary role that financial regulators must play in driving change within the U.S. financial sector.
Following the research presentation, please join us for a discussion regarding the tools available to regulators to reduce the spread of climate-related financial risk throughout the U.S. economy and suggested action to be taken by the Biden administration on this issue.