Yellen Heads to UN General Assembly With Focus on Climate Fight

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will head to the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week on a trip focusing on efforts to address global challenges including climate change.

(Bloomberg) — US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will head to the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week on a trip focusing on efforts to address global challenges including climate change.

During her visit, Yellen will announce new climate initiatives by her department, including mobilizing private investments in clean energy technology, the Treasury said.

Yellen has made climate policy a higher priority than any previous Treasury secretary and played a central role in implementing President Joe Biden’s signature energy-transition bill, the Inflation Reduction Act.

She will also focus on efforts to strengthen the global economy and address challenges stemming from Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Treasury said. 

Yellen has been using international meetings over the past year to push for changes to the global lending architecture so it can better tackle challenges including debt, climate change and pandemics.

Schedule Highlights

Boosting the capacity of institutions like the World Bank to help low and middle-income countries navigate such issues has been a key focus of the Biden administration as it seeks to limit the influence of China across the developing world and show countries in the Global South that it isn’t solely focusing on supporting Ukraine.

Yellen will be in New York Sept. 18-21 attending meetings and events, including a fireside chat with Hillary Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting. 

She’ll also meet with financial institutions, civil society organizations, and philanthropic leaders and deliver a speech at the Bloomberg Transition Finance Action Forum — hosted by Bloomberg, which is the owner of Bloomberg News.

–With assistance from Christopher Condon.

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