Continued warming will further destabilize our climate and produce more frequent and intense storms, wildfires, and heatwaves as well as more damaging droughts and more extensive ecosystem losses.” The White House report on Friday was a follow-up to a May executive order from Biden that essentially called on his own administration to analyze how the world’s largest economy could be affected by extreme heat, flooding, storms, wildfires and the broader adjustments needed to address climate change.įriday’s report stated: “The scientific evidence on climate change has grown increasingly stark. Trump was infamously skeptical about the climate crisis and was exuberant about pulling the US out of the Paris climate accord, agreed at the groundbreaking UN global summit on climate in France in 2015.īiden immediately returned the US to the agreement upon taking the presidency, when he beat Trump in November 2020. Many are looking for the US to lead the way. Prominent figures from Britain’s Queen Elizabeth to Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg have in recent days expressed, in their very different ways, exasperation with leaders favoring talk over action on the climate emergency. The White House report was issued as the crucial Cop26 global climate talks are due to begin in Scotland at the end of the month, with world leaders attending and intending to spell out their plans to help the planet avoid catastrophic heating and the climate destabilization that is already under way. “The Biden administration is showing the importance of addressing climate risks and opportunities across all government agencies.” “Never before in the history of our country has a US president taken such a sweeping view on climate change,” said Mindy Lubber, chief executive of Ceres. Under Donald Trump, the US ditched many of these policies, declining to factor in climate change when making decisions over the building of new infrastructure, for example. The new White House plan has been welcomed by environmental groups eager for the administration to weave climate considerations throughout its decision-making. McCarthy added: “This roadmap isn’t just about protecting our financial system – it’s about protecting people, their paychecks and their prosperity.”
Gina McCarthy, Biden’s top climate advisor, said that the climate crisis “poses a risk to our economy and to the lives and livelihoods of Americans, and we must act now”. The climate crisis “threatens the competitiveness of US companies and markets, the life savings and pensions of US workers and families, and the ability of US financial institutions to serve communities”, he added. “The intensifying impacts of climate change present physical risk to assets, publicly traded securities, private investments, and companies,” the US president said in the report. Government-backed mortgages for public housing will factor in the risk of calamitous floods, wildfires and other climate impacts. Under the new plan, the federal government will weigh up climate risks for employee benefit and retirement plan investments, incorporate climate disasters into lending and budgeting decisions and revise building standards for homes at risk of flooding.
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