Janet Yellen lays out aggressive plan to tackle climate change for economy

Janet Yellen, U.S. Treasury Secretary, on Wednesday pledged to take aggressive action in order to tackle climate change. She also warned that a failure to take needed steps could weaken economic growth.

At the Institute of International Finance, Yellen said that for the U.S. to bring its economy in line with international goals of eliminating carbon emissions will “require bold and urgent actions – nothing less than transforming important sectors of the global economy, especially when it comes to how we generate power and move people and goods.”

At a summit of 40 world leader on Thursday for the same topic, President Biden is expected to unveil a target to cut emission by roughly 50% by 2030 compared with 2005 levels.

Yellen’s speech also targeted Trump for his reversal of policies that had pulled the U.S. out of the 2015 Paris climate accord.