Ceres Welcomes Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s Call for Climate Transition Plans

Ceres President and CEO Mindy Lubber issued the following statement in support of remarks by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen at the Bloomberg Transition Finance Action Forum as part of Climate Week NYC 2023.  

“We applaud Secretary Yellen for her leadership in releasing the Treasury’s “Principles for Net-Zero Financing & Investment,” calling for companies and investors to prepare climate transition plans. These principles represent enormous progress in the transition to a zero emissions economy. The climate crisis poses a serious risk to the safety and soundness of the U.S. financial system and transition plans play a critical role in managing climate risk.  

“Ceres will continue working with influential investors and companies who have set ambitious goals to deliver on their climate action plans. While thousands have already begun planning how to transition, many more need to clearly spell out the actions they are taking with specific milestones to make their climate transition plans a reality. Through Ceres Ambition 2030 initiative and our global partner initiatives, we will continue to provide resources, one-on-one support, peer-learning opportunities, and educational workshops as investors and companies continue their journey to net zero.” 

As a founding partner of the Investor Agenda, Ceres has already been highly engaged in supporting investors in developing and implementing Investor Climate Action Plans. In July, the Investor Agenda released an updated Expectations Ladder setting out the high-level expectations for investors to take on climate action across four focus areas – Investment, Corporate Engagement, Investor Disclosure and Policy Advocacy, with Governance as a cross-cutting theme. The Expectations Ladder is inclusive and designed for all investors, regardless of where they are on their climate change journey. 

On the company side, Ceres has worked with partners to publish guidance on transition plans for specific sectors including banking. The Net Zero Standard for North American Banks sets out investor expectations for U.S. and Canadian banks on transitioning to a net zero emissions economy. In partnership with the Transition Pathways Initiative Centre, Ceres also published an analysis of the 6 largest banks' net zero plans for the fossil fuel sector titled, U.S. Banks and the Road to Net Zero: Analyzing the 2030 Oil and Gas Targets of the Six Largest U.S. Banks. 

Ceres is working to decarbonize the U.S. economy’s six highest-emitting sectors, including banking, by driving greater corporate climate action through its Ambition 2030 initiative. Banking, along with electric power, food and agriculture, oil and gas, steel, and transportation account for around 80% of total U.S. emissions based on 2019 data from the Environmental Protection Agency. To help companies create and implement climate transition action plans to achieve their emission reduction goals, the initiative has developed action-oriented guidance.  

Ceres has published a number of recent op-eds on transition plans. You can read them here, here and here.  

About Ceres 

Ceres is a nonprofit organization working with the most influential capital market leaders to solve the world’s greatest sustainability challenges. Through our powerful networks and global collaborations of investors, companies and nonprofits, we drive action and inspire equitable market-based and policy solutions throughout the economy to build a just and sustainable future. For more information, visit ceres.org and follow @CeresNews.