By David Lawder
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. financial regulators voted on Wednesday to disband two committees charged with monitoring financial risks brought on by climate change, ending a multi-year Biden administration effort to embed climate threats into financial regulations.
The Financial Stability Oversight Council, a multi-regulator risk watchdog body chaired by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, rescinded the charters of its Climate-Related Financial Risk Committee and its Climate-Related Financial Risk Advisory Committee by voice vote without dissent or abstentions during a public session.
The committees were set up by Bessent’s Biden administration predecessor, Janet Yellen, who warned repeatedly that increasingly severe storms, wildfires and other climate events were causing large economic and financial impacts on the U.S. economy and could trigger destabilizing asset losses.
Bessent said the dismantling was part of his “back to basics” approach to financial regulation, meant to remove burdensome rules and ease capital requirements for banks and other lenders to unlock more economic growth.
“By rescinding these charters, the council can better focus its attention and resources on core financial stability issues and our efforts to promote economic growth and security while maintaining safety and soundness and protecting consumers,” Bessent told the meeting.
The move is another step in the dismantling of Biden’s climate and energy policies, including unwinding federal support for clean energy projects, while slashing regulations to boost fossil fuel production.
“The Trump administration is set to destroy key protections against the risks climate change poses to our economy,” said Tracey Lewis, senior policy counsel at the Public Citizen non-profit group. “The committee’s work on the financial impacts of climate disasters on housing, homeowners’ insurance, and financial regulation play an important role in protecting the safety and soundness of the American financial system.”
A Treasury presentation also included FSOC’s intention to review past guidance on designating non-bank institutions as systemically important financial institutions, a step that would subject them to greater oversight.
(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Sam Holmes)
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