Ginny Cleaveland, Deputy Press Secretary, Fossil-Free Finance, Sierra Club, ginny.cleaveland@sierraclub.org, 415-508-8498 (Pacific Time)
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), and Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), introduced the Fossil Free Finance Act, legislation that would direct the Federal Reserve to require major banks and other Systemically Important Financial Institutions (SIFIs) to stop financing projects and activities linked to increased greenhouse gas emissions and submit a plan on how they will meet these requirements.
The Fossil Free Finance Act would require that all banks holding more than $50 billion in assets and all nonbank SIFIs reduce financed emissions by 50 percent by 2030 and cease financing emissions by 2050. The legislation would require banks to align financing with science-based emission targets, prioritize withdrawing funding from companies and projects that have a disproportionate negative impact on low-income and minority communities, and prioritize lending to companies that provide benefits to workers impacted by the transition to a clean energy economy. In addition, the Fossil Free Finance Act would require the Federal Reserve to report to Congress on commitments made by banks and nonbank SIFIs to reduce financed emissions and make progress on their targets.
In response to the announcement, the Sierra Club's Executive Director Ben Jealous issued the following statement:
“Wall Street banks have failed to live up to their own climate commitments by providing billions of dollars to new fossil fuel projects. Without strong federal oversight and regulation, these banks will only continue pouring money into the fossil fuel expansion driving the climate crisis, taking on excessive risk and threatening to destabilize the entire economy. So far, financial regulators have failed to rein in Wall Street’s reckless behavior. We applaud Senator Markey and Representative Pressley for their leadership in protecting our financial system from a climate-driven financial crash.”
A copy of the Fossil Free Finance Act can be found here. A summary of the bill is available here. Read the official press release from Rep. Pressley’s office here.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.