Climate activists press Fed's Jerome Powell at Jackson Hole conference

Climate activists approached Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on the sidelines of the annual Jackson Hole central banking conference in Wyoming to press him to address climate change and move the US economy away from fossil fuels.

In a clip posted on Twitter, activists are shown following Powell out of a Jackson Lake Lodge restaurant at dusk on Wednesday, holding a banner that read "Fed: End Fossil Fuel Finance Now."

"Mr Powell would you be willing to talk to us for just a moment," one activist says as Powell is shown walking away.

Central bankers from around the world attending the Kansas City Fed's Jackson Hole symposium this year are expected to discuss academic papers and challenges around policy constraints as they tackle high inflation. It is unclear how much attention will be on climate-related risks.

The climate activists' demands include faster action on requiring banks to measure their natural disaster vulnerabilities and potential disruptions related to the green energy transition.

But the demands also extend beyond what Fed policymakers say are their mandates, like requiring banks that lend to oil and gas companies to tie up more capital to safeguard against losses if the transition away from fossil fuels is more disruptive than anticipated.

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Emily Park, an organizer with climate group 350.org, said she hopes that planned actions on Thursday, including a group cycling trip to the lodge to bring attention to the issues, will impress on Powell and fellow policymakers the need to focus on environmental threats.

Political issue

The Fed has long shied away from wading into climate matters, a hot-button US political issue. It was the last major central bank, for instance, to join the Network for Greening the Financial System. Peers like the Bank of England and European Central Bank perform annual climate stress tests on the banks in their jurisdictions.

The US central bank instead has focused on understanding the risks climate change and the transition away from fossil fuels pose to the economy. But it has largely ruled out a more aggressive role in driving investment toward green energy, as the ECB has begun to do, and as activists would like.

That is in line with many Republican members of Congress who balk at the prospect of the Fed taking an active role in mitigating climate risks. Activists and some Democrats feel such a stance should at least be under consideration.

The Fed, which is accountable to the US Congress, has two internal groups and has partnered with US regulators to research potential vulnerabilities in the banking sector and the larger financial system.

Powell has also indicated the Fed is exploring how banks can cope with climate risks like rising temperatures and weather disasters, including developing climate stress scenarios already in use by other central banks.

Any focus on climate will work with the Fed's mandates to achieve maximum employment and price stability, Powell has said.

In an interview with Reuters on Thursday, 350.org's Park said that the previous evening she and colleagues had been dining in the Jackson Lake Lodge's Mural Room when they happened to notice Powell eating nearby.

Park said the group waited until the Fed chief got up to leave and then she approached Powell with questions, including whether climate issues would be on the agenda at the Jackson Hole conference.

Powell did not appear to say anything to the activists as he walked at a measured pace out of the restaurant, the clip on Twitter shows.