White House unveils climate finance plan

The White House published a report on Friday outlining projects to measure and address the risks that climate change poses to Americans and the economy, including programs to better incorporate climate threats into federal lending programs and budgeting processes.

Many of the projects laid out in the report are not new, including mandatory disclosure rules under consideration by the Securities and Exchange Commission to bring more clarity to investors about climate change-related investment risk.

But the report highlights government-wide efforts to address the issues before COP26 Climate Change Conference. The report pledges that the White House will include an assessment of the federal government's climate risk exposure in its annual budget and notes that government agencies will improve federal underwriting and lending program standards to better address the climate-related financial risks to their loan portfolios.