Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said on Wednesday that the private sector will need to shoulder much of the cost of greening the United States economy over the next decade and that the Biden administration is working on a new financial reporting framework to make the climate sector more appealing to investors.
Ms. Yellen, speaking at an Institute of International Finance event, called climate change an “existential risk to our future economy and way of life,” and said that she is working on a “whole of economy” approach to addressing it. The comments come as President Biden prepares to convene a virtual summit this week to show that the United States is ready to reassert itself as a global leader in combating climate change.
Ms. Yellen said that investor demand for green bonds and sustainable assets is on the rise but that climate-aligned investments continue to face obstacles from inconsistent disclosure requirements that make it difficult for investors to assess opportunities and risks. She said the Treasury Department is working with the Securities and Exchange Commission to create new climate-related disclosure requirements.
The Biden administration’s infrastructure and jobs plan that it proposed recently provides tax credits to encourage and direct investments in reducing carbon emissions, overhauling the transportation sector and retrofitting buildings. But Ms. Yellen said that government cannot meet the nation’s climate goals alone. She pointed to an estimate that suggests the United States needs more than $2.5 trillion in climate investments over the next 10 years to meet its emissions goals.
“Private capital will need to fill most of that gap,” Ms. Yellen said.
This week, Ms. Yellen announced the creation of a climate “hub” within the Treasury Department and appointed a senior official, John E. Morton, to oversee its work.
In her speech on Wednesday, she noted that the United States is taking a dramatically different approach to climate change under Mr. Biden than it did under former President Donald J. Trump.
“After sitting on the sidelines for four years, the U.S. government is fully committed to rejoin the fight against climate change,” Ms. Yellen said.
Lina Khan, a Democratic nominee to the Federal Trade Commission, outlined strong concerns over competition in the tech industry during her confirmation hearing on Wednesday.
Ms. Khan, a law professor and a former staffer at the F.T.C. who President Biden nominated to the agency in March, warned of the cascading power of tech companies…
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