Tuesday, August 9, 2022The New York Times has reported that the State Financial Officers Association has "push[ed] Republican state treasurers, who are mostly elected officials and who are responsible for managing their state's finances, to use their power to promote oil and gas interests and to stymie Mr. Biden's climate agenda." Overall, it is unsurprising that a coordinated political effort exists among Republican officeholders to counter the climate policies promoted by the Biden Administration. Climate change, and the public response to it, has become an increasingly partisan issue in recent years, and these efforts by Republican state officials are congruent with the broader political agenda of the Republican party. And the arena in which this action is taking place--the financial markets--has become an increasingly potent area with respect to environmental policy, as demonstrated by the agenda of the Biden Administration's SEC. But the impact of this concerted effort by Republican state treasurers could have significant consequences beyond their apparent immediate goal of pushing back against efforts to incorporate climate risk and environmental goals into corporate financial planning.

Source: New York Times August 10, 2022 03:59 UTC