"Even before Democrats won control of the Senate last week, experts said the next four years could be ripe for pushing financial regulators — and Wall Street giants — forward on climate change.

Now momentum is accelerating. The Democratic takeover in the Senate increases the likelihood that lawmakers will seek to curb climate-related financial risks, according to observers.

That has a lot to do with Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), a longtime Wall Street critic who is set to become chairman of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.

Brown has pushed for years to break up big banks and improve affordable housing. More recently, he's emerged as a leading voice in a growing coalition of Democrats who are concerned about the financial system's climate vulnerabilities, and the ways that financial firms themselves exacerbate global warming."

Avery Ellfeldt reports for E&E News January 11, 2021. [2]