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Treasury Roundtable on State and Local Efforts to Address Climate Change

U.S. Treasury Department

Virtual Roundtable on State and Local Efforts to Address Climate Change

Thursday, March 3, 2022

Topline

  • Yellen promoted enhanced climate disclosure and use of private capital to transition to a net zero economy. She also touched on resiliency in the municipal market and climate risk identification and disclosure strategies for municipal issuers.

Moderator

  • John Morton, Climate Counselor, Department of Treasury

Panelists

  • Mitch Landrieu, Senior Advisor and Infrastructure Implementation Coordinator, White House
  • Ali Zaidi, Deputy White House National Climate Advisor, White House
  • Radhika Fox, Assistant Administrator, Office of Water, Environmental Protection Agency
  • Christopher Coes, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy, Department of Transportation
  • Jacob Leibenluft, Counselor to the Secretary, Department of Treasury

Opening Remarks

Janet Yellen, Secretary, Department of Treasury

In her opening statement, Yellen stated the need for multilateral agreements and meaningful federal investment to tackle climate change. She stated that Treasury’s Federal Insurance Office plans to issue a report by the end of this year on climate-related insurance supervision that identifies potential gaps in regulatory practices. Yellen added that the Financial Literary and Education Commission, an interagency group led by Treasury, is also looking at household financial vulnerabilities to climate change and transition – tackling questions like how families manage both their day-to-day budgets and their planning for the future given the potential for increased disasters and local economic changes. She also discussed Treasury’s focus on promoting the resilience of financial markets – including municipal markets – to climate-related financial risks, further explaining that enhanced climate disclosures can help to address that information deficit. She continued that one area of focus is emerging best practices in climate risk identification and disclosure strategies for municipal issuers and that Treasury plans to convene municipal market participants to support the advancement of innovative policy at the state and local levels. She then touched on steps issuers are taking to design and structure instruments that can tap into growing pools of private capital seeking sustainable investments. Yellen promoted connecting capital to green projects in communities by leveraging and complementing public investment dollars.

Mitch Landrieu, Senior Advisor and Infrastructure Implementation Coordinator, White House

In his opening statement, Landrieu emphasized the need to build climate smart infrastructure, fund low emission fleets, and invest in securing the supply chain for critical minerals.

Ali Zaidi, Deputy White House National Climate Advisor, White House

In his opening statement, Zaidi said we must efficiently leverage federal and private investment, work with utilities to invest in “make ready” infrastructure, and use this moment to drive decarbonization.

Radhika Fox, Assistant Administrator, Office of Water, Environmental Protection Agency

In her opening statement, Fox said climate stress is experienced as water stress, discussed the Water Sub Cabinet, which brings together agencies to share research and data while coordinating funding initiatives, and emphasized the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) focus on climate resiliency projects.

Christopher Coes, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy, Department of Transportation

In his opening statement, Coes stated the Department of Transportation’s intention to invest in passenger rail, public transit, and improving road safety, win the electric vehicle (EV) market by improving infrastructure and the supply chain, make the movement of goods greener, and usher in economic growth by working with private investment.

Jacob Leibenluft, Counselor to the Secretary, Department of Treasury

In his opening statement, Leibenluft said the American Rescue Plan ensured that local and state governments did not have to cut back on public investments, adding that Treasury has several opportunities to transition to net zero economy and is committed to making capital available to small businesses in disadvantaged communities.

Question & Answer

Understanding and Quantifying Climate Projects

Morton asked how the panelists are ensuring that the benefits of climate projects are better quantified and understood. Fox said we all need to work together to change the narrative on this issue and that revitalizing the economy and protecting the environment are not mutually exclusive. She added that the federal government is a partner to local communities to quantify risks and benefits and spread

best practices. Coes said there are massive costs to not making our infrastructure more resilient and that the Department of Transportation (DOT) is trying to reduce the administrative burden on small communities to ensure equal opportunity. Zaidi said working with insurance companies to incentivize resilience would have a massive impact and recommended doubling investment.

Design and Implementation of Projects and Proposals

Morton asked how the panelists are engaging with and partnering with state and local officials to ensure effective design and implementation of projects and proposals. Coes said state and local partners are on board with DOT and working with them, adding that DOT is working with colleagues to set up a joint office where it can provide technical assistance and resources. Leibenluft said Treasury has built up the infrastructure for engagement and that highlighting best practices is valuable in this space. Fox said the EPA cannot make policy siting behind a desk and must engage with communities.

Economic Recovery

Morton asked the panelists to reflect on the economic recovery. Leibenluft said Treasury focused on reaching the communities that were hardest hit and addressing the causes behind the disproportionate impacts in order to build recovery in an equitable way. Coes said investments need to be felt broadly, that DOT is working to empower and encourage its workforce pipelines and encourage building workforce training. Zaidi said state and local government can also partner amongst themselves and that there are ways to harmonize regional strategies.

For more information on this hearing, please click here.

For an archive of past SIFMA hearing coverage, please click here.