April, 12 2021, 12:00am EDT
US Voters Support Strong Government and Corporate Action to Curb Wall Street's Climate Impacts
Voters want the federal government to play an active role in reducing Wall Street’s impact on the climate and preventing climate-fueled economic crises.
WASHINGTON
Today, a new set of polling released by Data for Progress shows that US voters overwhelmingly support the federal government taking strong action to curb the climate impact of Wall Street in order to prevent economic crises driven by the financing of fossil fuels and other risky, high-emitting sectors.
The polling shows that voters want the Biden administration to apply its "whole-of-government" approach -- including action by the Treasury Department, the SEC, the Federal Reserve, and other financial regulators--to implement climate finance reforms that prevent major US banks and other financial institutions from further exacerbating the climate crisis and its economic ramifications.
Additionally, the polling shows that the vast majority US voters across demographic lines want more transparency about their bank or other financial institutions' contributions to climate change, and they believe that Wall Street firms' long-term climate pledges -- such as the recent wave of "net zero by 2050" commitments -- are not credible without concrete action plans.
Key findings from the polling include:
- A majority of voters (60 percent) agree the federal government should enforce more financial safeguards on big banks and insurers to prevent a future financial and economic crisis driven by climate change.
- A majority of voters (62 percent) agree the government should enact mandatory climate risk disclosure rules, including both the risks financial institutions face from climate change and their contributions to that risk through their financing.
- By a 35-percentage-point margin, voters prefer for the federal government to enforce climate risk disclosure rules rather than let Wall Street "self-regulate" their climate risk disclosures.
- Nearly two-thirds of voters (63 percent) agree the Treasury and Federal Reserve should play an active role in protecting the financial system from a future financial crisis driven by climate change.
- A majority of voters (62 percent) agree that banks making investments in industries that exacerbate climate change should also make investments in frontline communities.
More details from the poll are available HERE.
The new findings come as the Biden administration is reportedly finalizing an executive order to "develop a strategy on climate-related risks for public and private financial assets." Members of the Biden administration, such as Treasury Secretary Yellen and Acting SEC Chair Lee, have begun to highlight climate change as a key financial risk issue. However, climate actions by US financial regulators have been minimal thus far, and several key climate finance positions still remain unfilled.
Climate and financial reform advocates have put forward numerous policy recommendations in recent weeks and months, including, among others: Public Citizen and Americans for Financial Reform's "Climate Roadmap for U.S. Financial Regulation" report, Evergreen Action's five steps for SEC and Treasury, and Stop the Money Pipeline's priorities for the Biden administration.
In response to the new polling data, members of the Stop the Money Pipeline coalition issued the following statements:
Ben Cushing, Financial Advocacy Campaign Manager, Sierra Club: "The American people have paid the price before when Wall Street's risky and destructive practices have gone unchecked, and they clearly don't want to do it again. The Biden administration has made bold climate commitments and indicated it will treat climate change as a financial risk issue; this new polling shows it also has the overwhelming support of US voters to act on these promises. There's no time to waste."
Moira Birss, Climate and Finance Director, Amazon Watch: "Climate policy has so far been left to markets, and now we're in a climate crisis. It's time that the US government take the reins back from Wall Street so we can assure the rapid, justice-centered decarbonization necessary for a livable planet."
Erika Thi Patterson, Climate and Environmental Justice Director, Action Center on Race and the Economy: "Wall Street has been financing environmental racism and climate destruction in Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities for generations. We can't trust these institutions to self-regulate us out of a climate crisis or to address decades of harm to frontline communities of color. The majority of voters want the federal government to stand up to Wall Street to protect front-line communities and our planet from further climate disaster."
Yevgeny Shrago, Policy Counsel, Public Citizen: "Banks, insurers and asset managers have been gambling with our health and our future for too long. Financial regulators have an obligation to use all of the tools that they already have to immediately start protecting the financial system and front-line communities from Wall Street's contributions to climate chaos."
Jason Opena Disterhoft, Climate and Energy Senior Campaigner, Rainforest Action Network: "By a ratio of 2.5 to 1, Americans say that financial institutions' 2050 commitments are 'empty promises' without a concrete action plan. Unless they start to immediately phase out their fossil and deforestation financing, banks' 2050 pledges will continue to be met with fully justified skepticism."
Tracey Lewis, Senior Policy Analyst, 350.org: "It is clear, a majority of Americans want our Central Bank to do their job, and protect the economy from climate chaos. The people are tired of the Federal Reserve's knee-jerk reflex of bailing out Wall Street, while dragging their feet on managing climate risk. It's high-time for some meaningful action from the Fed."
Dorothy Slater, Research Assistant, Revolving Door Project: "The American public has made clear it is hungry for legitimate financial regulation to confront the global climate crisis. Industry pressure on financial regulators to avoid inconvenient disruptions to their business models will be enormous, so we need strong climate leaders throughout the executive branch who are on the public's side. Details are consequential here, and we can't afford regulators who side with Wall Street over the planet."
Further background:
Read the full polling memo from Data for Progress here.
Find shareable graphics of all the topline findings from Data for Progress here.
The Sierra Club is the most enduring and influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. We amplify the power of our 3.8 million members and supporters to defend everyone's right to a healthy world.
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Grand Jury Indicts Top Trump Aides, 11 Arizona Republicans Over 'Fake Electors' Scheme
Had it succeeded, said the state's attorney general, the scheme would have "deprived Arizona's voters of their right to have their votes counted for their chosen president."
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A grand jury in Arizona on Wednesday charged seven aides to Donald Trump and nearly a dozen Republican officials over a "fake electors" scheme in the state that aimed to keep the former president in power after his 2020 loss to President Joe Biden.
Trump, who is currently facing nearly 90 charges across four criminal cases as he runs for another White House term, was described as "unindicted co-conspirator 1" in the 58-page indictment, which was announced by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes.
"The people of Arizona elected President Biden," Mayes, a Democrat, said Wednesday. "Unwilling to accept this fact, the defendants charged by the state grand jury allegedly schemed to prevent the lawful transfer of the presidency. Whatever their reasoning was, the plot to violate the law must be answered for."
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A state grand jury, made up of everyday, regular Arizonans, has handed down felony indictments in the ongoing investigation into the fake elector scheme in Arizona. pic.twitter.com/Nu8GcD4ZqJ
— AZ Attorney General Kris Mayes (@AZAGMayes) April 24, 2024
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The Arizona Republicreported Wednesday that "several of the Arizona electors have previously claimed they were merely offering Congress a backup plan, though nothing in the documents they sent to Congress and the National Archives backs up that assertion."
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Red Curve is a domestic limited liability company that offers compliance and FEC reporting services but does not appear to offer any legal services. It is managed by Bradley Crate, who also serves as the treasurer for each of the five Trump-affiliated committees concerned in this complaint, as well as over 200 other federal committees.
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Trump—who is the presumptive 2024 GOP presidential nominee—faces 91 federal and state felony charges related to his role in the January 6 insurrection and his organization's business practices. He is currently on trial in New York for allegedly falsifying business records related to hush money payments to cover up sex scandals during the 2016 election cycle. The twice-impeached former president has been open about his use of campaign donations to pay his legal costs.
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