Tom Steyer wants to ‘penalize people’ who add to ‘climate risk’

Speaking in New York City last week, Wall Street billionaire Tom Steyer laid clear his vision for penalizing people whose actions may contribute to climate change.

“We need to reward people whose behavior reduces climate risk and penalize people who add to it,” said Steyer “If we can get this right, I think there’s no doubt that our economy is going to continue to do very well.”

He was joined by several wealthy businessmen — such as Michael Bloomberg and former bankers and government officials Hank Paulson and Robert Reich— to unveil a report from Risky Business, an economic analysis of the financial impact to be caused by climate change.

A Wall Street baron, Steyer’s words are not to be taken lightly. Deemed the ‘liberal answer to the Koch Brothers, he’s one of the richest businessman in the United States and played a key part in raising millions of dollars to elect Barack Obama in 2008 once Hillary Clinton lost the Democratic nomination.

He met with the president this week to discuss what the White House could do to tackle climate change, and how “insurance industry’s role in helping American communities prepare for extreme weather and other impacts of climate change,” according to Reuters.

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