Why Is The Fed Starting To Look At Global Warming? To Preserve Economic Stability, Of Course

[hatrack]

Great sense of priorities there, guys!!

EDIT

This week brought a significant shift in that approach. The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, one of 12 regional branches, held the system’s first-ever climate research conference. It is partly a sign that the central bank is ready to talk about a global economic agenda item — and partly a recognition that the risks are too important for the authorities to ignore. “Why now?” Mary C. Daly, president of the branch, asked in her speech to open the event. “The answer is simple: It’s essential to achieving our mission.”

The Fed’s job is to promote economic stability, and that requires understanding emerging challenges related to climate, Ms. Daly said. Power outages could shut down the electronic payment system, she pointed out, and increase the demand for cash — which the Fed manages. Damage from droughts and floods could come at a heavy cost to insurers or banks whose customers struggle to make payments.

“By participating more actively in climate-related research and practice, the Federal Reserve can be more effective in supporting a strong economy and a stable financial system,” Lael Brainard, a member of the Fed’s board in Washington, said in prepared remarks at the same event.

The event, and the speeches that came with it, made it clear that the Fed is on the cusp of diving into climate-related research more intently. Ms. Brainard said the central bank was discussing how it might participate in a network of about 40 global central banks that was created in 2017 to promote discussions about climate-related financial and macroeconomic issues. The goal of becoming more active with the Central Banks and Supervisors Network for Greening the Financial System, she said, would be to “learn from our international colleagues’ approaches to measuring and managing climate risks in the financial system.”

EDIT

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/08/business/economy/federal-reserve-climate-change.html

[SharonAnn]

1. Fine, but they're way late to the party.

[hatrack]

2. " .. . a network of about 40 global central banks that was created in 2017 . . . "

2017? Really?