White House targets economic risks from global climate change
WASHINGTON —The Biden administration is taking steps to address the economic risks from climate change, issuing a 40-page report Friday on government-wide plans to protect the financial, insurance and housing markets and the savings of American families.
The report lays out steps that could potentially alter the mortgage process, stock market disclosures, retirement plans, federal procurement and government budgeting.
It’s a follow-up to a May executive order by President Joe Biden that essentially calls on the government to analyze how the world’s largest economy could be affected by extreme heat, flooding, storms, wildfires and the broader adjustments needed to address climate change.
“If this year has shown us anything, it’s that climate change poses an ongoing urgent and systemic risk to our economy and to the lives and livelihoods of everyday Americans, and we must act now,” Gina McCarthy, the White House national climate adviser, told reporters.
A February storm in Texas led to widespread power outages, 210 deaths and severe property damage. Wildfires raged in Western states. The heat dome in the Pacific Northwest caused record temperatures in Seattle and Portland, Oregon. Hurricane Ida struck Louisiana in August and caused deadly flooding in the Northeast.
Among the steps outlined is the government’s Financial Stability Oversight Council developing the tools to identify and lessen climate-related risks to the economy. The Treasury Department plans to address the risks to the insurance sector and availability of coverage. The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking at mandatory disclosure rules about the opportunities and risks generated by climate change.
The Labor Department on Wednesday proposed a rule for investment managers to factor environmental decisions into the choices made for pensions and retirement savings. The Office of Management and Budget announced the government will begin the process of asking federal agencies to consider greenhouse gas emissions from the companies providing supplies. Biden’s budget proposal for fiscal 2023 will feature an assessment of climate risks.
Federal agencies involved in lending and mortgages for homes are looking for the impact on the housing market, with the Department of Housing and Urban Development and its partners developing disclosures for homebuyers and flood and climate-related risks. The Department of Veterans Affairs will also look at climate risks for its home lending program.
Clinton hospitalized: Bill Clinton was said to be recovering from a urological infection Friday, and an aide to the former president said that Clinton was in an intensive care section of the hospital, though not receiving “ICU care.”
The aide, who spoke to reporters at the hospital on the condition his name wasn’t used, did not elaborate on the reason Clinton was in the ICU.
He said Clinton had a urological infection that spread to his bloodstream, but is on the mend and never went into septic shock, a potentially life-threatening condition. There was no immediate word on any timeline for his release.
British lawmaker fatally stabbed:
A long-serving member of Parliament was stabbed to death Friday during a meeting with constituents at a church in England, an attack that united Britain’s fractious politicians in shock and sorrow. A 25-year-old man was arrested at the scene.
Police said that counterterrorism officers were leading the investigation into the slaying of Conservative lawmaker David Amess but that they had not yet determined whether it was a terrorist attack.
They did not identify the suspect, who was held on suspicion of murder.
“It will be for investigators to determine whether or not this is a terrorist incident,” Essex Police Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington said.
The slaying renewed concern about the risks politicians run as they go about their work representing voters. British politicians generally are not given police protection when they meet with their constituents.
Flash flood in San Antonio: The bodies of a woman and a young girl were found after a flash flood from the remnants of Hurricane Pamela swept their vehicles from a road early Thursday in San Antonio.
The occupants of the two vehicles swept into Martinez Creek about 6:30 a.m. on the city’s eastern fringe were members of the same extended family, said Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar.
One vehicle was driven by a man with two boys and the 5-year-old girl as passengers, while the 52-year-old woman was driving two boys. All were en route to Tradition Elementary School when their vehicles were swept away.
The man and the four boys were rescued.
The heavy overnight rains from Pamela’s remnants deluged San Antonio, which is prone to flash flooding. Pamela made landfall on Mexico’s Pacific coast early Wednesday and moved inland into central Texas and southeastern Oklahoma.
Another billionaire in space: A forthcoming flight to space by a Japanese billionaire will allow the public to have a closer look at life on board the International Space Station, the president of Space Adventures, a company that organized the flight, said Friday.
Fashion tycoon Yusaku Maezawa is set to rocket to space on Dec. 8 on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft together with producer Yozo Hirano, who will film his mission, and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin.
Tom Shelley, president of Space Adventures, said Maezawa compiled a list of 100 things to do in space during a 12-day mission after asking the public for ideas.
“His intention is to try to share the experience of what it means to be in space with the general public,” Shelley said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Wild cats: A suburban Detroit woman has been ordered to find another home for her four African caracals after one of the wild cats spent hours on the loose after escaping its enclosure earlier this week.
Royal Oak police have issued Elaine Westfall five citations. She only has a few days to remove her pets.
Native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and India, caracals prey on rodents, other small mammals and birds.
Westfall, 62, said she didn’t know how the cats escaped and that she’s not sure the police have the authority to make her move them out.