Climate action

  • The Fed acknowledged climate risk in its financial stability report to Congress and in numerous speeches by governors.

  • Jerome Powell has committed to issue supervisory guidance on climate risk – while draft guidance has already been published by the Office for the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

  • The Fed established a new Supervision Climate Committee and announced a Financial Stability Climate Committee to advise the Board of Governors on how to address climate risk.

  • The Fed encouraged investment in renewable energy and climate resilience activities as part of the Community Reinvestment Act.

Climate inaction

  • Neither the Fed nor other regulators have yet confirmed when they will carry out climate risk exams, or climate stress tests.

  • Although the OCC and FDIC have published draft guidance on climate risk, this is not currently set to apply to all banks.

  • No senior Fed official has acknowledged the financial risks posed by nature los.

How the Federal Reserve stacks up

Rank Country Aggregate Score (out of 130) Grade (A+ to F) Research and Advocacy (out of 10) Monetary Policy (out of 50) Financial Policy (out of 50) Leading by Example (out of 20)
16 United StatesUnited States 16 D- 10 0 6 0

Central Bank/Supervisor

Federal Reserve

More info


Research & Advocacy

10 out of 10

High-impact

  • N/A

Medium-impact

Low-impact

Monetary Policy

0 out of 50

High-impact

  • N/A

Medium-impact

  • N/A

Low-impact

  • N/A

Financial Policy

6 out of 50

High-impact

  • N/A

Medium-impact

Low-impact

Leading by Example

0 out of 20

High-impact

  • N/A

Medium-impact

  • N/A

Low-impact

  • N/A

What steps are missing in the Federal Reserve toolbox to address climate risk?

Civil society expects the bank to do the following:

  • Establish long-term climate stress tests and add near-term climate variables to existing stress tests.

  • Integrate additional transition risks and physical risks into capital risk weights.

  • Follow climate risks into the shadow banking sector.