I first started working on climate change in the 1990s, advising President Clinton as Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers. We understood then that the potential cost of climate change was significant.

Of course, we know what the trajectory has been ever since.

Over the past 30 years, the incidence of natural disasters has dramatically increased and the actual and future potential cost to the economy has skyrocketed. We are now in a situation where climate change is an existential risk to our future economy and way of life.

Many stakeholders have been working tirelessly against climate change, including several of our international partners, the private sector, & some US states. After sitting on the sidelines for 4 years, the US gov't is fully committed to rejoin the fight against climate change.

At @USTreasury, our goal is to take this “whole-of-government” approach and turn it into a “whole-of-economy” approach.
We recognize the importance of public sector investment, & also recognize that the financial sector has an opportunity to play an important role.

And nationwide, the American Jobs Plan will be the cornerstone of the approach to address climate change. The Plan builds the infrastructure for the economy of the future.

It will be the most significant public investment in America since the 1960s, dramatically reducing US emissions by greening the electricity and transportation sectors. It includes retrofitting US buildings to be more sustainable, clean energy manufacturing, & climate R&D.

The Plan also removes tax subsidies for fossil fuels, which today cost taxpayers roughly $4 billion a year & incentivize use of higher-emission fuels. This contributes to climate change & negatively impacts air & water quality in US communities—especially in communities of color.

This is just some of what we are doing domestically, and clearly no nation can reverse climate change alone. We must be committed to green infrastructure and innovation abroad -- climate change is a global issue that needs global solutions.

The US accounts for about 13% of global emissions, & falling each year. We're committed to working closely with our int'l partners—particularly other large emitters, such as Europe, India, and China—in our shared responsibility to implement ambitious emissions reduction measures.

Furthermore, recognizing that international coordination on issues of financing for the green transition is critical, I am pleased that Treasury is co-chairing the newly relaunched G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group.

Climate science is relatively new to financial institutions & regulators. And so, at this point, it’s hard to translate changes in climate & policy into econ & financial projections. It's even more difficult to merge sector-by-sector assessments to form a systemwide perspective.

Some have argued this is a reason for us to move slowly. The thinking goes that because we know so little about climate risk, let’s be tentative in our actions—or even do nothing at all. This is completely wrong in my view. This is a major problem and it needs to be tackled now.

The Administration is taking a whole-of-government approach to aggressively tackle climate change.
My goal, at Treasury, is to support this work with a whole-of-economy approach so workers, investors, and businesses can seize the opportunity that tackling climate change presents.

Read my full statement to the @IIF on climate finance and action here:

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0139

or https://secjanetyellen.medium.com/