Treasury Secretary Bessent Eliminates Climate Risk Assessment Panels

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the Financial Stability Oversight Council voted to dissolve two climate risk assessment panels that integrated climate considerations into financial regulation. The panels, established to evaluate how climate change threatens financial stability through physical risks (extreme weather), transition risks (policy changes), and systemic risks (cascading failures), provided critical oversight of bank exposure to climate-related losses. Their elimination removes institutional mechanisms for assessing whether banks are adequately prepared for climate-driven financial shocks, such as real estate losses from sea-level rise or stranded fossil fuel assets. The move follows direct lobbying from fossil fuel companies and banks seeking to avoid climate disclosure requirements and capital reserve obligations. By eliminating climate risk assessment, Treasury ensures that financial regulators remain blind to one of the century’s largest sources of systemic economic risk, benefiting fossil fuel interests while exposing the financial system to catastrophic losses.