The Fed Deserves Its D- Grade on Climate Change
Every time monetary policymakers cave to political pressure and let banks sidestep growing risks, they are taking a side.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell can’t remain neutral on the climate.
Photographer: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell often argues the central bank has no business making climate-change policy. But it should be careful it doesn’t make the problem worse.
Bloomberg News reports the Fed is leading US regulators in resisting proposals by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision to make banks disclose a slew of climate information, from risk-management plans to the carbon emissions of their customers. According to the report, Fed officials have argued the Basel proposals would drag bank regulators into affairs that have nothing to do with finance. It’s the common response of the Fed and its supporters to critics who argue it should play a bigger role in limiting climate change.