SPOTLIGHT

Skyrocketing property insurance premiums burden Americans across the country, yet a new report says premiums aren’t rising fast enough to accurately reflect climate risk. An estimated 39 million US homes are insured at suppressed prices compared to actual climate risk, and nearly 6.8 million of those are covered by state-backed “insurer of last resort” policies, according to First Street Foundation. This “insurance bubble” can be attributed to an overreliance on state-subsidized policies as well as state regulations that limit how much companies can raise rates in a given year, the report said. Many experts say insurance rates will continue to rise until we reduce fossil fuel emissions.  

NEWS

• Accounting Today: ISSB and PwC see broader move to int’l sustainability standards 
• Ad Week: Climate Week NYC Draws Out Sustainable Brands and World-Class Greenwashers 
• American Banker: Citizens pledges to work with commercial clients on climate plans
• AP News: Homeowners face rising insurance rates as climate change makes wildfires, storms more common
• Axios: Report warns of a real estate “climate bubble”
• Ballotpedia News: House GOP passes four more bills opposing ESG out of committee
• Barron’s: EU Plans To Ban Greenwashing By Companies
• Bloomberg: Congressman Casten on ESG Policy in Washington, DC: ESG Currents | Climate Finance Update: Janet Yellen, Ursula von der Leyen Speak at Forum | US Home Insurance ‘Bubble’ Closer to Popping as Climate Risks Mount | Watch Yellen Pushes for Action on Climate Change 
• Bloomberg Law: Bill Clinton, Israeli Billionaire Launch $1 Billion Climate Fund | FINANCE BRIEF: Yellen Pressing Companies on Net Zero Emissions 
• CarbonBrief: Shaming without naming the world’s climate delinquents
• CBC News: Saudi oil delegation at World Petroleum Congress says we’re nowhere near peak fossil fuel
• CBS News: Homes in parts of the U.S. are “essentially uninsurable” due to rising climate change risks
• CFO Dive: 22 Republican AGs accuse net-zero alliance of antitrust violations
• CNN Business: Insurance premiums could surge in these American cities because of climate disasters, new data shows
• Compliance Week: Experts: SEC or not, Scope 3 GHG disclosure requirements coming 
• Fast Company: The insurance bubble could make the value of your house plummet 
• Financial Times: NY climate week: Yellen warns of ‘significant economic costs’ of climate change
• Fortune: Fractured UN still notching wins with corporate sector
• Grist: Climate risks place 39 million U.S. homes at risk of losing their insurance
• The Hill: Yellen to outline voluntary sustainable investment principles
• Investment & Pensions Europe: US Treasury releases net zero financing and investment principles
• MarketWatch: More banks should join climate pledge, Treasury’s Yellen says in issuing new guidance 
• Reuters: Yellen says she trusts IMF, World Bank, Morocco to adjust annual meetings after disaster | US Treasury: Financiers’ ‘net zero’ pledges must align with temperature limits
• Politico: Inside the Assembly’s whiff on wildfire insurance 
• The Wall Street Journal: Companies Stall Climate Action Despite Earlier Promises

OPINION

• MarketWatch: Oil stocks could outshine clean-energy shares under this climate change scenario
• Private Equity News: How to manage investing in companies linked to fossil fuels in the net zero era

OPPOSITION

• Breitbart: Yellen: People’s View of Economy Has ‘Disconnect’ with How Economy’s Doing, People Positive About Personal Finances 
• Marcellus Drilling News: WSJ Exposes SEC Chairman Gary Gensler as Anti-O&G Climate Zealot

SOCIAL

• GasLeaksAction shared a photo: 🗽🌇 Gas Leaks is in NYC for Climate Week to help get the truth out there: “Natural” gas and LNG are planet-warming methane, and banks like Bank of America must stop funding this climate disaster. @RAN #LNGisMethane #SayNoToLNG #MethaneisMalicious #MethaneLeaks #NoLNG
• Kate Levick tweeted: Yellen—there is evidence that climate change has created substantial financial impacts, firms risk being left with stranded assets. Treasury identified a need for better clarity around best practice for net zero commitments and transition plans, and decided to intervene.

DATES 

• September 17-24: Climate Group Climate Week NYC. View the list of events here. 
• September 20: UN Climate Ambition Summit and SEC Investment Company Names Rule.
• September 25-26: Insure Our Future Campaigning Academy ’23.