I took these actions because, as a financial regulator of insurance companies, a big part of my job is to make sure that insurance companies are invested in assets that retain value. With all the international, national, state, and local policies and laws being enacted to restrict the burning of carbon (and rightly so if we are going to save the planet from continued temperature rise), there is a growing and material financial risk that carbon assets (coal, gas, and oil) will become “stranded assets” on the books of insurance companies. Stranded assets are assets which decline in value, potentially to zero, in this case because laws are passed to restrict the burning of carbon. The “stranded assets” risk is most acute for thermal coal, as the article explains.
While being the first financial regulator in the nation to call for a financial sector to divest from thermal coal and the first to impose financial disclosure requirements for carbon investments has resulted in major pushback and threats, I will continue to insist that insurers address climate risk.
I am not alone. No less a leading financial regulator than the head of the Bank of England has identified climate risk as a material financial risk for banks and insurance companies. My leadership in this regard has been recognized internationally. I testified in London before the G-20 Financial Stability Board, which was considering at that time what it ought to ask banks to do with regard to climate risk and wanted to know what I was doing with insurance companies.
It’s an enormous responsibility to regulate the largest insurance market in the United States and sixth largest in the world. I will continue doing so in a way that protects consumers and fulfills my responsibilities as a financial regulator. Thank you for the privilege of serving as California’s Insurance Commissioner.
HFA Statement on Donald Trump Jr.’s Offensive Comments
Today, Hillary for America Director of Jewish Outreach, Sarah Bard, released the following statement after Donald Trump Jr.’s comments made on a Philadelphia radio station:
“Donald Trump Jr.’s recent comments invoking the use of gas chambers to make a political attack show just how insensitive, divisive, and reckless the Trump campaign is. The bottom line is this — offensive references to the Holocaust are never acceptable, especially from a presidential campaign. This is just the latest string of outrageous comments and offensive actions from the Trump campaign. From imposing a Star of David over a sea of dollar bills in a widely shared graphic, retweeting anti-Semitic white supremacists, to remarks he’s made using anti-Semitic stereotypes — the Trump campaign has shown us exactly the type of campaign they are running time and time again, and this campaign will continue to hold them accountable.
Yesterday marked the 15th anniversary since 9/11. The first veterans of what would be called the “War on Terror” were those first responders who ran into the carnage to save lives ultimately losing their own and the men and women who later went through rubble searching for the remains of fallen. They were the first to answer the call to service for a stunned nation. Since those attacks, those first responders have been stricken by illnesses caused by exposure to that toxic environment. In 2010 the Congress took up The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. After three attempts it was finally passed and each year subsequently it has passed. Each year though, it faces harsh opposition. Congressman Devin Nunes, my opponent, has voted against the Law nine times and failed to vote three times. While John Stewart was able to public shame enough in that body to pass the law, Nunes felt none of it.
In unrelated news, I have some yard signs in and am gearing up for the home leg of the race. Contact me if you are interested in a yard sign. Also any help you may give is appreciated.
California Counts Poll: Big Leads for Kamala Harris, Yes on 64
California Attorney General Kamala Harris continues to hold a big lead in the state’s open U.S. Senate race over congresswoman Loretta Sanchez. More than half of respondents, 51 percent, say they would vote for Harris in a new poll commissioned by the California Counts public media collaboration. Just 19 percent favor Sanchez. “There’s no split where Sanchez is leading,” says Kim Nalder, the political director for the CALSPEAKS Opinion Research Center at Sacramento State, which conducted the poll. “She gets 29 percent from 29 to 34-year-olds. That’s one of her high numbers, whereas Harris is getting a majority in a lot of the subcategories.” Nalder says this poll differs from typical election surveys, because it does not focus on registered or likely voters. Instead, it seeks to capture the sentiments of California residents more broadly. http://www.capradio.org/articles/2016/09/07/california-counts-poll-big-leads-for-kamala-harris,-yes-on-64/
Statement from endorsed Congressional candidate Emilio Huerta on Mike Pence’s visit to the Central Valley:
“I would like to welcome Mike Pence to the Central Valley. I hope he will take the opportunity to meet with some of the people who have been hurt by the policies of his Republican ticket and David Valadao. The Central Valley residents who would lose their health coverage if he and David Valadao are successful in repealing the Affordable Care Act; the families that struggle to pay their bills and put food on their tables because of Republican opposition to raising the minimum wage; the parents and children torn apart as comprehensive immigration reform is blocked.
“However, I am simply not optimistic about Gov. Pence having a change of heart. My opponent, David Valadao, shares the same harmful agenda as the Trump-Pence ticket despite seeing the results of those policies.”
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