By Jessica Corbett
"The boardrooms of the world's largest banks are polluted to the core... How are we ever meant to stop the climate crisis if the world's most powerful decision-makers are in bed with the companies behind the wheel!?"
That's how Bank on Our Future — a UK-based network pressuring financial players to align their business practices with tackling the climate crisis — responded Wednesday to a new DeSmog analysis revealing that a majority of directors at major banks worldwide are connected to polluting companies and organizations.
"This is a ginormous and superb piece of work by the talented sleuths" at DeSmog, said Beau O'Sullivan, a campaigner at the Sunrise Project in Australia. He added that the report "contains findings that readers may find offensive and deeply disturbing."
Even a global #ClimateEmergency hasn't triggered rapid defunding of the industries responsible for driving climate… https://t.co/ogg5ZHjvRP— Greenpeace Canada (@Greenpeace Canada)1617819304.0
DeSmog examined the boards of 39 banks, including seven based in the United States, and found that 65% of directors have a total of 940 past or current ties to "climate-conflicted" industries. Across all banks studied, 16% of board members had ties to companies involved in extracting coal, gas, and oil.
In addition to fossil fuels, "there were also significant ties to banks and investment vehicles supporting polluting industries, as well as to thinktanks and lobbying groups with a history of campaigning against climate action," reported DeSmog's Phoebe Cooke, Rachel Sherrington, and Mat Hope.
Breaking: New research by @DeSmogUK reveals that 65% of directors in powerful bank boardrooms have polluting ties t… https://t.co/7pJgsPcE9u— Richard Brooks ☀️ (@Richard Brooks ☀️)1617791825.0
"The fossil fuel industry has a well-established track record of ingratiating itself with society's opinion leaders and decision-makers," Geoffrey Supran, research associate in Harvard University's Department of the History of Science, told DeSmog about "the revolving doors between the corporate leaderships of incumbent industries."
"Having its fingers in all the pies allows the fossil fuel industry to quietly put its thumb on the scales of institutional decision-making, helping delay action, and protect the status quo," added Supran, who called the results of the analysis "predictable, yet shocking."
Alec Connon, coalition coordinator at Stop the Money Pipeline, responded similarly to the revelations in an email to Common Dreams.
"It should surprise no one that Wall Street boards are brimming with executives with close ties to climate-damaging companies," he said. "Since the Paris agreement was signed in 2015, Chase, Wells Fargo, and their Wall Street ilk have loaned more than $1 trillion to the fossil fuel industry. In the climate crisis, Wall Street is a primary villain."
"Perhaps if they had fewer fossil fuel executives on their boards," Connon added, "that would begin to change."
Remember the military-industrial complex? Meet it's equally nasty twin, the fossil fuel-finance complex https://t.co/dAUlDtmrcK— Bill McKibben (@Bill McKibben)1617799338.0
A coalition of green groups including the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) released a report last month detailing how the world's 60 biggest banks have poured over $3.8 trillion into the fossil fuel industry in the wake of the landmark climate agreement, which aims to keep global temperature rise by 2100 to "well below" 2°C, with a more ambitious target of 1.5°C.
The groups' Banking on Climate report generated fresh criticism of big banks' recent pledges to work toward net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. In light of DeSmog's reporting, Connon also addressed such commitments, saying that "2050 promises without 2021 action are essentially meaningless."
"We need action today, not vague promises of action in the next three decades," he continued. "Perhaps the fact that Wall Street boards are so full of fossil fuel executives is one reason why they're continuing to prioritize empty promises over immediate, meaningful policy change."
Since January 2020, the Stop the Money Pipeline coalition has pressured banks, insurers, and asset managers to cut ties with companies financing climate destruction. While its initial top targets were JPMorgan Chase, BlackRock, and Liberty Mutual, the coalition has expanded its efforts — including with a recently launched campaign directed at funders of Enbrige's Line 3 tar sands pipeline.
That controversial project — intensely opposed by Indigenous water protectors and climate campaigners — was the focus of a report by Emily Holden of Floodlight and Emily Atkin of HEATED, published Wednesday in The Guardian.
Citing DeSmog's finding that 77% of board members at seven major U.S. banks have ties to climate-conflicted companies or groups, the pair provided "an on-the-ground look at where all this dirty money is going," as Supran put it.
According to Holden and Atkin:
From the U.S., Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo have made the project possible with billions of dollars in loans, although it's impossible to tally precisely how much they have financed for the pipeline specifically. Another five large Canadian banks are also financing Enbridge, according to RAN.
Out of these nine North American banks backing Enbridge, six have recently published net-zero climate goals, pledging to align their investments with the international Paris climate agreement.
"The banks are gorging on doughnuts and then eating an apple afterwards," said Richard Brooks, the Toronto-based climate finance director for Stand.earth. "We certainly can't rely on banks or the private sector to lead us into climate safety and lead us toward emissions reductions. We need policy, we need regulation. We need government to act."
Last week, 145 groups sent a letter to John Kerry, President Joe Biden's climate envoy, encouraging the former secretary of state to use his current position to help end "the flow of private finance from Wall Street to the industries driving climate change around the world — fossil fuels and forest-risk commodities."
In another pair of letters last week, federal lawmakers and environmental groups pressed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to pursue bolder efforts to protect U.S. financial institutions and the economy from risks posed by the climate crisis.
Campaigners are also calling for changes at the institutions.
"We need people who are willing to lead on climate on the boards of the country's largest financial institutions," said Connon. "That's why Stop the Money Pipeline is joining the growing calls on major investors, such as BlackRock and Vanguard, demanding that they vote against any corporate directors that have proven themselves unable or unwilling to take real action on climate. That starts this shareholder season."
Reposted with permission from Common Dreams.
- Bank Lending to Fossil Fuel Companies Increased After Paris ... ›
- JP Morgan Economists Warn of 'Catastrophic Outcomes' of Human ... ›
The world's biggest banks gave fossil fuel companies $3.8 trillion in financing in the years following the Paris agreement, according to a new report.
Even though 2020 lending was down 9% compared to the previous year, it was still higher than in 2016, when the Paris agreement took effect, and lending to the 100 fossil fuel companies with the biggest plans to expand actually rose by 10%. American and Canadian banks accounted for 13 of the 60 banks reviewed in the report, with JPMorgan Chase providing more fossil fuel financing than any other bank.
The report comes as pressure is mounting on financial institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels driving climate change and multiple banks have touted promises to cut and offset their greenhouse gas pollution, including JPMorgan, HSBC, and Citigroup.
As reported by The Guardian:
"When we look at the five years overall, the trend is still going in the wrong direction, which is obviously the exact opposite of where we need to be going to live up to the goals of the Paris Agreement," said Alison Kirsch, at Rainforest Action Network and an author of the report. "None of these 60 banks have made, without loopholes, a plan to exit fossil fuels."
"We have seen progress in restricting financing for special places like the Arctic or greenhouse-gas-intensive forms of oil, like tar sands, but these are such a small piece of the pie," she said.
For a deeper dive:
The Guardian, Reuters, AFP, Bloomberg, Morning Consult, CNBC, HuffPost
For more climate change and clean energy news, you can follow Climate Nexus on Twitter and Facebook, sign up for daily Hot News, and visit their news site, Nexus Media News.
Correction: A previous version of this story stated wrongly that the biggest banks gave fossil fuel companies $32.8 trillion in financing. It is $3.8 trillion.
- Sen. Merkley Introduces Bills to Stop Banks From Funding Fossil Fuels ›
- World's Banks Have Given $2.7 Trillion to Fossil Fuels Since Paris ... ›
- JP Morgan Economists Warn of 'Catastrophic Outcomes' of Human ... ›
- U.S. Bank Raises $2 Billion in Oil and Gas Pipeline Finance Despite ... ›
- 'Wall Street Is a Primary Villain' in Climate Crisis, Report Concludes ›
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The bright patterns and recognizable designs of Waterlust's activewear aren't just for show. In fact, they're meant to promote the conversation around sustainability and give back to the ocean science and conservation community.
Each design is paired with a research lab, nonprofit, or education organization that has high intellectual merit and the potential to move the needle in its respective field. For each product sold, Waterlust donates 10% of profits to these conservation partners.
Eye-Catching Designs Made from Recycled Plastic Bottles
waterlust.com / @abamabam
The company sells a range of eco-friendly items like leggings, rash guards, and board shorts that are made using recycled post-consumer plastic bottles. There are currently 16 causes represented by distinct marine-life patterns, from whale shark research and invasive lionfish removal to sockeye salmon monitoring and abalone restoration.
One such organization is Get Inspired, a nonprofit that specializes in ocean restoration and environmental education. Get Inspired founder, marine biologist Nancy Caruso, says supporting on-the-ground efforts is one thing that sets Waterlust apart, like their apparel line that supports Get Inspired abalone restoration programs.
"All of us [conservation partners] are doing something," Caruso said. "We're not putting up exhibits and talking about it — although that is important — we're in the field."
Waterlust not only helps its conservation partners financially so they can continue their important work. It also helps them get the word out about what they're doing, whether that's through social media spotlights, photo and video projects, or the informative note card that comes with each piece of apparel.
"They're doing their part for sure, pushing the information out across all of their channels, and I think that's what makes them so interesting," Caruso said.
And then there are the clothes, which speak for themselves.
Advocate Apparel to Start Conversations About Conservation
waterlust.com / @oceanraysphotography
Waterlust's concept of "advocate apparel" encourages people to see getting dressed every day as an opportunity to not only express their individuality and style, but also to advance the conversation around marine science. By infusing science into clothing, people can visually represent species and ecosystems in need of advocacy — something that, more often than not, leads to a teaching moment.
"When people wear Waterlust gear, it's just a matter of time before somebody asks them about the bright, funky designs," said Waterlust's CEO, Patrick Rynne. "That moment is incredibly special, because it creates an intimate opportunity for the wearer to share what they've learned with another."
The idea for the company came to Rynne when he was a Ph.D. student in marine science.
"I was surrounded by incredible people that were discovering fascinating things but noticed that often their work wasn't reaching the general public in creative and engaging ways," he said. "That seemed like a missed opportunity with big implications."
Waterlust initially focused on conventional media, like film and photography, to promote ocean science, but the team quickly realized engagement on social media didn't translate to action or even knowledge sharing offscreen.
Rynne also saw the "in one ear, out the other" issue in the classroom — if students didn't repeatedly engage with the topics they learned, they'd quickly forget them.
"We decided that if we truly wanted to achieve our goal of bringing science into people's lives and have it stick, it would need to be through a process that is frequently repeated, fun, and functional," Rynne said. "That's when we thought about clothing."
Support Marine Research and Sustainability in Style
To date, Waterlust has sold tens of thousands of pieces of apparel in over 100 countries, and the interactions its products have sparked have had clear implications for furthering science communication.
For Caruso alone, it's led to opportunities to share her abalone restoration methods with communities far and wide.
"It moves my small little world of what I'm doing here in Orange County, California, across the entire globe," she said. "That's one of the beautiful things about our partnership."
Check out all of the different eco-conscious apparel options available from Waterlust to help promote ocean conservation.
Melissa Smith is an avid writer, scuba diver, backpacker, and all-around outdoor enthusiast. She graduated from the University of Florida with degrees in journalism and sustainable studies. Before joining EcoWatch, Melissa worked as the managing editor of Scuba Diving magazine and the communications manager of The Ocean Agency, a non-profit that's featured in the Emmy award-winning documentary Chasing Coral.
For nearly 100 years, the Empire State Building has stood as a testament to the industriousness and economic power of the United States. Now, it can also be considered a beacon for the future of sustainable energy. Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) signed a deal in early February to convert the Empire State Building, along with all of its other real estate holdings, to 100% renewable energy.
ESTR is working with Green Mountain Energy to purchase renewable power equivalent to its entire real estate portfolio for the next three years, according to a press release. This newfound commitment emerged after success in a 10-year partnership with Green Mountain Energy to supply the Empire State Building with renewable energy. In 2011, the building went under massive renovations to bring it up to the latest standards in green energy and technology. This retrofit created a 40% reduction in energy use and emissions for the skyscraper. Now, ESTR is ready to bring that change to the rest of its properties in New York, Connecticut, and surrounding areas.
Commercial buildings are a leading consumer of non-renewable energy, accounting for 35% of total electricity use in the U.S. and 16% of all carbon dioxide emissions in the country. Unfortunately, only 2% of the nation's renewable energy goes to commercial buildings, as compared to 7% in residential and 22% in industrial sectors. Without leaders in the commercial space switching to renewables, this trend is likely to continue.
However, ESTR is trying to change the course of renewables in the commercial sector. By switching their entire portfolio to wind energy purchased from Green Mountain Energy, they estimate a reduction of nearly 450 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions from their properties. They will also become the biggest investor in renewable energy in the real estate industry with this partnership.
ESTR is Investing in the Economic and Environmental Future
ESTR's properties throughout the Northeast will not be directly powered by wind energy from Green Mountain Energy. Instead, Green Mountain will ensure that an equivalent amount of energy used by the Empire State Building and other holdings will be produced throughout the U.S. This not only reduces the nation's environmental footprint but provides access to sustainable energy to areas that could otherwise not afford such an investment.
This is a major step forward in New York City's commitment to divesting fossil fuels. In 2018, the city decided to file lawsuits against several major fossil fuel companies directly contributing to the climate crisis. They also decided to divest the city's pension funds from fossil fuel companies and reserve owners. To celebrate, the Empire State Building glowed green from its peak to show support for the mayor's decision.
However, ESTR knows it's not just the sustainable choice to switch to green energy -- it's also the most economical. Cyndy Reynolds, commercial sales director for Green Mountain Energy, explains that the deal was made based on a competitive rate structure just as much as it was for environmental factors: "When you have someone like ESRT who you know is going to look at every facet, whether it's cost or reliability, and they decide to move forward … it's not just a PR play at that point...It truly does check the boxes of all the business metrics they have."
Green Mountain Energy focuses on wind energy production, which is not only the most prevalent form of renewable energy in the U.S. but also the cheapest. Studies by financial advisory firm Lazard confirm that wind energy is more affordable to manufacture than almost all kinds of non-renewable energy, even excluding government subsidies. They report that wind can cost as little as $9 per 1,000 kilowatt-hours; whereas natural gas power typically costs $23 per kilowatt-hour when tax incentives and subsidies are equalized. Plus, research suggests that there will be an additional 50% decrease in wind energy costs in the next 10 years.
Anthony Malkin, ESTR's chief executive, believes that the best approach to converting the country to renewables is through market action rather than government action. "We're trying to move the market with capital, rather than through a policy mandate," he said.
Through ESRT's actions, they are proving that the switch to renewables is not only for good press, but also good for business. To learn more about the Empire State Realty Trust commitment to sustainability, click here.
Lee Raymond, former ExxonMobil CEO, will resign from the JPMorgan board of directors at the end of the year.
Raymond was elected earlier this year to continue serving as the board's independent director through May 2021, a role he has held for the past seven years on a board on which he sat for one-third of a century. His early departure comes as JPMorgan faces increasing pressure from climate groups, shareholders, and the BankFwd campaign over the bank's financing of fossil fuel projects.
Raymond was the target of a major vote-out campaign by environmental groups earlier this year. At ExxonMobil, Raymond aggressively rejected the scientific reality of climate change and Exxon funneled millions of dollars to groups undermining climate science and denying climate change. JPMorgan remains the world's largest financier of fossil fuels.
For a deeper dive:
The New York Times, E&E, Reuters, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, FT
For more climate change and clean energy news, you can follow Climate Nexus on Twitter and Facebook, sign up for daily Hot News, and visit their news site, Nexus Media News.
By Liz Kimbrough
Six grassroots environmental activists will receive the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize in a virtual ceremony this year. Dubbed the "Green Nobel Prize," this award is given annually to environmental heroes from each of the world's six inhabited continents.
This year's winners include an Indigenous Mayan beekeeper who led a coalition to ban genetically modified soy in seven Mexican states, a French activist who pressured France's three largest banks to stop financing coal, a woman who harnessed youth activism to enact a ban on single-use plastics in the Bahamas, an Indigenous Waorani woman who organized legal action preventing oil extraction in a huge expanse of Amazon rainforest, an Indigenous Karen organizer who spearheaded the formation of the world's first peace park in an active conflict zone, and an activist who prevented the construction of what would have been the first coal-fired power plant in Ghana.
"These six environmental champions reflect the powerful impact that one person can have on many," John Goldman, president of the Goldman Environmental Foundation, said in a statement. "Even in the face of the unending onslaught and destruction upon our natural world, there are countless individuals and communities fighting every day to protect our planet. These are six of those environmental heroes, and they deserve the honor and recognition the Prize offers them — for taking a stand, risking their lives and livelihoods, and inspiring us with real, lasting environmental progress."
The prize ceremony, typically held in April each year was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year's ceremony will take place virtually today, Nov. 30, at 4 p.m. PST and will be hosted by Sigourney Weaver, with musical appearances by Jack Johnson, Michael Franti, Danni Washington and Lenny Kravitz.
Here are the winners of the 2020 Goldman Environmental Prize:
Kristal Ambrose, the Bahamas
Kristal Ambrose. Goldman Environmental Prize
Kristal Ambrose started a youth movement that convinced the government of the Bahamas to enact a ban on single-use plastic bags, plastic cutlery, straws, and Styrofoam cups and containers.
Millions of tourists travel to the Bahamas each year to see the islands' famed beaches and diverse marine life. However, plastic waste has increasingly polluted beaches and coral reefs, harming marine life and the economy. Worldwide, at least 8 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean each year. By some estimates, more than half of all plastic produced are for single-use purposes.
Ambrose, a 29-year-old Bahamian woman, says she once witnessed the removal of plastic lodged internally in a sea turtle and, according to a statement, vowed, "I'll never drop a piece of plastic on the ground again." She went on to join an expedition to study the western garbage patch in the Pacific and, upon returning home, founded the Bahamas Plastic Movement in 2013. The goal: develop solutions and educate the youth. Ambrose created a free camp to train youth leaders and researchers who spent their days surveying beaches for plastic, measuring microplastics from boats, and dissecting fish to find plastic within.
Ambrose drafted legislation to ban single-use plastics on the islands and organized outreach and advocacy campaigns around the issue. In January 2018, Ambrose and students from her camp met with the environment minister to discuss the economic and environmental impacts of plastic waste. Three months later, the environment minister officially announced a ban on single-use plastic bags, straws, food utensils, and Styrofoam cups and containers. The ban was enacted in January this year.
Chibeze Ezekiel, Ghana
Chibeze Ezekiel. Goldman Environmental Prize
Chibeze Ezekiel led a four-year grassroots campaign to cancel the construction of the first coal-fired power plant in Ghana, changing the trajectory of Ghana's energy future.
Ghana has faced energy shortages and blackouts. Increasing droughts have made hydroelectric projects less reliable. Searching for solutions, the government of Ghana proposed the construction of a 700-megawatt coal-fired power plant and an industry-ready shipping port in Ekumfi district, a coastal fishing community where fresh water resources are limited.
Knowing that wastewater and mercury emissions from the coal plant could threaten the health and safety of the districts, Chibeze "Chi" Ezekiel, 40, got to work. As national coordinator of 350 Ghana Reducing Our Carbon and an experienced youth organizer, he launched an awareness campaign around the dangers of coal plants. When the coal company pitched the plant to local communities and community leaders, the latter were prepared to ask tough questions and provide contrary evidence to their claims.
In 2016, Ghana's environment minister announced the coal plant would not move forward, and in 2017 the country's president said all new power projects would be renewable energy-based. Ghana has now released a Renewable Energy Master Plan, signaling its commitment to a renewable energy future. Ezekiel's work prevented the coal industry from gaining access to Ghana, and he now works toward a cleaner energy future for the country.
Nemonte Nenquimo, Ecuador
Nemonte Nenquimo. Goldman Environmental Prize
Nemonte Nenquimo filed a lawsuit against the Ecuadoran government and successfully safeguarded 202,000 hectares of Indigenous territories and Amazon rainforest from oil exploration and extraction.
Nenquimo, 33, is an Indigenous Waorani woman from the Amazon Rainforest in Ecuador. In 2015, she co-founded an Indigenous-led coalition called the Ceibo Alliance and was elected president of an organization that represents the Waorani of Ecuador's Pastaza province.
Ecuador is among the most biodiverse places in the world, but its forests and people have been increasingly threatened by logging, road construction, oil exploration and other extractive industries. In 2018, in an effort to bring oil company investments into the nation, Ecuador's minister of hydrocarbons announced 2.8 million hectares (7 million acres) of land constituting primary rainforest would be auctioned off for oil concessions.
In 2019, Nenquimo and other Waorani leaders filed a lawsuit against three government ministries in Ecuador for falsely claiming they had consent from the Waorani to sell their lands at auction. She also bolstered Indigenous community independence by installing solar and rainwater catchment systems in villages and supporting cottage industries such as chocolate production. Nenquimo helped secure funds for Indigenous filmmakers to tell their stories and played a lead role in a community mapping project charting the Waoroni territory around 16 communities.
In April 2019, Nenquimo and the Waorani won the court case against the Ecuadoran ministries, and the ruling was upheld in the court of appeals, safeguarding 202,000 hectares of Indigenous territories and Amazon rainforest from oil exploration and extraction. This case set an important legal precedent for Indigenous rights in Ecuador.
Nenquimo was named one of TIME magazine's list of 100 most influential people of 2020, and continues to work as a leader of her people and the environmental movement in Ecuador.
Nemonte Nenquimo filed a lawsuit against the Ecuadoran government and successfully safeguarded 202,000 hectares of Indigenous territories and Amazon rainforest from oil exploration and extraction.
Nenquimo, 33, is an Indigenous Waorani woman from the Amazon Rainforest in Ecuador. In 2015, she co-founded an Indigenous-led coalition called the Ceibo Alliance and was elected president of an organization that represents the Waorani of Ecuador's Pastaza province.
Ecuador is among the most biodiverse places in the world, but its forests and people have been increasingly threatened by logging, road construction, oil exploration and other extractive industries. In 2018, in an effort to bring oil company investments into the nation, Ecuador's minister of hydrocarbons announced 2.8 million hectares (7 million acres) of land constituting primary rainforest would be auctioned off for oil concessions.
In 2019, Nenquimo and other Waorani leaders filed a lawsuit against three government ministries in Ecuador for falsely claiming they had consent from the Waorani to sell their lands at auction. She also bolstered Indigenous community independence by installing solar and rainwater catchment systems in villages and supporting cottage industries such as chocolate production. Nenquimo helped secure funds for Indigenous filmmakers to tell their stories and played a lead role in a community mapping project charting the Waoroni territory around 16 communities.
In April 2019, Nenquimo and the Waorani won the court case against the Ecuadoran ministries, and the ruling was upheld in the court of appeals, safeguarding 202,000 hectares of Indigenous territories and Amazon rainforest from oil exploration and extraction. This case set an important legal precedent for Indigenous rights in Ecuador.
Nenquimo was named one of Time magazine's list of 100 most influential people of 2020, and continues to work as a leader of her people and the environmental movement in Ecuador.
Leydy Pech, Mexico
Leydy Pech. Goldman Environmental Prize
Leydy Pech, a Mayan beekeeper, spearheaded a coalition that prevented Monsanto from planting genetically modified "Roundup ready" soybeans in seven states in southern Mexico.
Pech, a 55-year-old Indigenous woman from the state of Campeche in Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, works with a rare, stingless, native bee species (Melipona beecheii) that has been cultivated by the Mayans since pre-Columbian times. Beekeeping is a key part of Mayan culture, and quite important economically. In Campeche, an estimated 25,000 families, many Indigenous, rely on the honey trade for their livelihoods, and Mexico is the sixth-largest producer of honey worldwide.
In 2012, after failing to consult with local and Indigenous communities, the Mexican government granted Monsanto permission to plant genetically modified soybeans in seven Mexican states, including Campeche. Pech formed a coalition of NGOs, beekeepers and activists who filed a lawsuit against the Mexican government. Her coalition advocated for research into the effects of the GM plots, resulting in evidence that GM soy pollen was present in local honey, and that glyphosate, a chemical best known from the widely used pesticide Roundup, was found in the water supply and urine of people in Pech's hometown of Hopelchén.
In 2015, the Supreme Court of Mexico ruled unanimously that Indigenous communities must be consulted before the planting of GM soy. Monsanto's permits were canceled in Campeche and Yucatán states. Further organizing by Pech led to Mexico's Food and Agricultural Service revoking Monsanto's permits to grow GM soy in seven states.
Lucie Pinson, France
Lucie Pinson. Goldman Environmental Prize
Lucie Pinson used a variety of methods to pressure banks and insurers to cease support of coal development. Now, 17 insurers and 22 global banks have pledged to no longer fund coal projects.
Nearly half of worldwide carbon dioxide emissions, as well many other harmful toxins, come from the burning coal. Yet new coal projects are still popping up, all of them reliant on financing from banks and investors. France's three largest banks gave out more than $32 billion in loans to coal companies between 2007 and 2013.
Lucie Pinson, a 36-year-old French climate activist, used a multifaceted approach to persuade French banks to stop investing in coal. As a campaigner for the Sunrise Movement, she and her team threatened the banks' reputations through media campaigns and handed out flyers to bank customers. Pinson cultivated relationships with journalists, making clear to them the links between French finance and coal through documentation. She also worked from within, purchasing shares in the banks so she could attend shareholder meetings and develop relationships with professionals within the banks.
Her work was fruitful. By 2017, none of the French banks were financing new coal projects. With that done, she focused on insurers of banks with similar tactics. Now, 17 insurers and 22 global banks have ceased support of coal development. Pinson is now working to stop all financial institutions from investing in coal.
Paul Sein Twa, Myanmar
Paul Sein Twa. Goldman Environmental Prize
Paul Sein Twa worked to establish a 546,000-hectare (1.35-million-acre) peace park to safeguard biodiversity and culture in the Salween River Basin in Myanmar, the first in a conflict zone.
Paul Sein Twa, 47, is a member of the Karen Indigenous group in Myanmar. The Karen sought independence from Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) after World War II, leading to what has been described as the world's longest ongoing civil war, displacing hundreds of thousands to camps along the Thai border.
The Salween River Basin, home to the Karen people, holds the longest dam-free river in Asia. This basin, largely undeveloped due to decades of conflict, is a biodiversity hotspot with large, intact teak forests home to iconic species such as tigers, clouded leopards, gibbons, sun bears, Asiatic black bears, and Sunda pangolins. Agribusiness, extractive industries, deforestation, and mining are on the rise in the region, and in 1998, a mega dam was proposed within the Karen territory in the Salween River Basin.
Sein Twa began exploring community-driven approaches to conservation and decided to work proactively to protect Karen territory by advocating for the creation of a transboundary protected area, also known as a peace park. He worked with NGOs, government and Karen civil society to rally support and to educate people from 348 villages about the process of forming the park. He also worked with the forest department in Karen state to transition forestry practices back to Indigenous methods and to map the territory to show Karen ownership of land.
The idea of the park gained widespread support, and in December of 2018, the 546,000-hectare Salween Peace Park was formed. It includes 27 community forests and three wildlife sanctuaries. It is the first peace park to be established in a conflict zone.
Sein Twa continues to work with communities in the still-volatile region to develop plans for land management, document changes in biodiversity, and resist development.
Reposted with permission from Mongabay.
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By Martin Kuebler
More than 700 climate lawsuits have been filed around the world since 2015, according to the Climate Change Litigation Databases. That's a huge increase, considering there have only been about 1,700 of these types of cases since the late 1980s, most of them in the U.S.
In a recent long-running case, the Dutch Supreme Court — citing the European Convention on Human Rights — ruled in favor of environmental group the Urgenda Foundation and 900 citizens and ordered the Dutch government to reduce its greenhouse emissions by at least 25% by the end of 2020. A few months later, the government announced €3 billion ($3.5 billion) in measures to drastically cut coal use and fund renewable energy projects.
Urgenda director Marjan Minnesma called it "an enormous win," telling The Guardian that the move would show "it is possible to use the law as a strategic instrument for change."
Here's an overview of this tactic, and others, that environmentalists are using to force climate action.
1. Defending Human Rights
UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet believes the Urgenda case will set a precedent. "This landmark ruling provides a clear path forward for concerned individuals in Europe — and around the world — to undertake climate litigation in order to protect human rights," she said after the decision. The International Bar Association even released a model statute for such cases challenging government failure to act on climate change in early 2020.
Citizen groups have filed similar human rights cases in several EU countries over the past five years, including in France, Belgium and Ireland — the latter decided in the activists' favor in July 2020.
In February 2020, a group of nine young Germans led by Fridays for Future activist Luisa Neubauer filed a human rights challenge to Germany's Federal Climate Protection Act (KSG). They're arguing that these targets — which aim to reduce emissions by 55% over the next decade — don't go far enough.
And in September 2020, six young Portuguese activists between the ages of 8 and 21 launched an unprecedented climate case at the European Court of Human Rights against the 27 EU member states, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. Backed by the Global Legal Action Network, their aim is to force the nations to respect the 2015 Paris climate agreement and cut their emissions at home and abroad, where their multinational companies operate.
With many of the cases still ongoing, it's too soon for activists to know whether their strategy will prove successful in the long run. But they say wins in Ireland and the Netherlands have given them hope.
2. Standing up for Indigenous Rights
Another strategy focuses on the violation of Indigenous rights and racial discrimination, arguing that climate change exacerbates these contentious issues.
In November 2020, a group of political parties backed by NGOs filed a complaint against the Brazilian government for alleged failures to curb deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, a major contributor to climate change. They argue that government inaction has "violated the fundamental rights of Indigenous peoples" present and future. The case was in part inspired by a 2018 ruling by Colombia's highest court, which found that the Colombian rainforest was entitled to "protection, conservation, maintenance and restoration."
Earlier in 2020, representatives of the Wet'suwet'en Indigenous group in British Columbia filed a legal challenge against the Canadian government for failing to meet its commitments under several climate accords since the late 1980s.
"None of Canada's international commitments […] even if met, would have or will enable it to make its equitable contribution to reducing global warming to non-catastrophic levels," they said, arguing that this failure had breached their constitutional and human rights.
Legal challenges by Indigenous groups have met with less success over the years, especially in North America. But as the effects of climate change become more apparent, that could change.
3. Holding Major Polluters to Account
Activists and municipalities, especially in the U.S., are increasingly targeting major oil and gas companies directly, aiming in some cases to use awarded fines to fund climate mitigation plans.
In early 2018, New York City took five of the world's largest oil companies — BP, Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell PLC — to court for billions of dollars in compensation for the effects of climate change. Referencing devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city was seeking damages to fund climate-resilient infrastructure and heat mitigation measures.
"The city is standing up and saying we will take our own action to protect our people," he told reporters. A federal judge threw out the lawsuit later that year, though the city has launched an appeal.
Local cases like these have also gone international. In 2015, Peruvian farmer Saul Luciano Lliuya filed a claim against German electricity producer RWE, alleging it had "willingly and knowingly" contributed to climate change and was responsible for increased flooding caused by glacial melt near his mountain home. He has asked the court to order RWE to reimburse him for 0.47% of the costs he is expected to incur for flood protection — RWE's estimated share in global total emissions from 1751 to 2010.
"Fossil fuel companies, like tobacco companies before them, have allowed governments to pay for the harms caused by their products," Korey Silverman-Roati, a climate law fellow at the Sabin Center, told Bloomberg in a recent interview. "As climate harms and costs continue to rise, more jurisdictions are likely to attempt to recoup their costs in court, and the pressure on courts to apportion those costs in a just way will only grow."
4. Protecting Livelihoods
Chevron, Exxon Mobil and other fossil fuel companies are tied up in another climate case on the U.S. West Coast, where a fishing industry trade group took them to court in late 2018 for damaging their "productive livelihood and way of life."
The fishers allege the oil giants have contributed to increased ocean temperatures which have led to prolonged closures of the Dungeness crab fisheries, "the most lucrative and reliable fisheries on the West Coast."
Also in 2018, a group of families from across the EU, Kenya and Fiji filed a lawsuit against the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union for failing to protect citizens from the impacts of climate change and the threat to their livelihood.
Among the plaintiffs are lavender farmers from France, beekeepers in Portugal, an Italian family who works in the Alpine winter tourism industry and a group of Indigenous Sami youth from Sweden, who fear their reindeer herding culture is at risk. The group claims the EU's existing climate targets don't protect fundamental "rights to life, health, occupation and property."
The goal of court cases like this isn't always to win — in fact, the plaintiffs in the EU case aren't seeking compensation. Stefan Küper, press spokesperson for the NGO Germanwatch, told DW that such cases "draw attention to the issue and show other people suffering from the negative impacts of climate change that they are not alone."
5. Influencing Climate Investments
But financial incentives are still a proven path to success, as seen most recently in a landmark case in Australia where a $41 billion pension fund was sued by a fund member for investing in fossil fuels, an increasingly risky venture. The case was settled in early November 2020, with the pension fund pledging to achieve a "net zero carbon footprint for the fund by 2050."
Analysts expect the case to spur similar litigation around the world. "If investors are legally required to apply a climate risk lens to their portfolios, this could, for example, result in a significant reduction in investments in fossil fuels, many of which are already being viewed as stranded assets in a low-carbon future," said David Barnden, of the law firm that argued the case.
Reposted with permission from DW.
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Indigenous Women to Financial CEOs: Stop Abetting 'Climate-Wrecking' Tar Sands Industry
By Andrea Germanos
A group of Indigenous women and their allies on Monday urged the heads of major global financial institutions to stop propping up the tar sands industry and sever all ties with the sector's "climate-wrecking pipelines, as well as the massively destructive extraction projects that feed them."
The demand to the CEOs comes in an open letter signed by more than 40 Indigenous leaders including Rebecca Adamson, Cherokee and founder of First Nations and First Peoples Worldwide; Tara Houska, Couchiching First Nation and founder of the Giniw Collective; and Winona LaDuke, White Earth Nation and executive director of Honor the Earth.
Supporting the call is a diverse group of over 150 organizations such as Another Gulf Is Possible Collaborative, Global Exchange, and Indigenous Environmental Network.
"It's time to move on. The most destructive and expensive oil in the world needs to stay in the ground," LaDuke said in a statement.
Beyond the tar sands sector's "grave threats to Indigenous rights, cultural survival, local waterways and environments, the global climate, and public health," the open letter says continued financing and insuring of tar sands projects just makes bad economic sense, noting that "no subsector has had a worse financial prognosis than tar sands oil."
⚡ BREAKING ⚡ Indigenous women leaders sent an open letter to 70 major financial institutions calling on them to res… https://t.co/tYtnEomm9L— WECAN, International (@WECAN, International)1603113477.0
"The current economic crisis has sent oil and gas prices, and particularly tar sands oil, plunging," the letter notes.
"Tar sands is one of the most carbon-intensive, expensive extraction processes in the industry, and these pipelines are likely to be stranded assets soon after they are built," the women wrote, referring to a scenario in which fossil fuels will have to stay in the ground.
The letter zeroes in on three specific pipelines as pivotal to future tar sands extraction — TC Energy's Keystone XL pipeline, Enbridge's Line 3 pipeline, and the Canadian government-owned Trans Mountain pipeline — each of which has faced sustained opposition. The economic impact of such opposition can't be denied, with the letter pointing to the "$25 billion in mining assets lost due to operations being tied up or shut down by community protests" in 2018.
What's more, the Indigenous leaders wrote, the "risk portfolio for extractive and land-based companies show[s] that 73% of company risk and delays are non-technical. Non-technical means community protests and boycotts that result in operational delays or shutdowns."
Should the CEOs fail to heed the demands laid out in the letter, further delays ought to be expected. "We will continue to resist the remaining proposed projects and hold the financial backers of these companies accountable," the letter states.
While the ecological harm of tar sands extraction and infrastructure has been repeatedly noted by fossil fuel critics, the letter points to new threats brought by the coronavirus crisis. The signatories point to the multiple work sites in Alberta that have seen outbreaks of COVID-19 as extremely bad news for Indigenous communities who "are uniquely vulnerable to the virus' spread due to historically underfunded healthcare programs and significant health disparities."
In addition, an influx of project workers and so-called "man camps" brings particularly acute harm to Indigenous women:
Indigenous women in these rural areas are in peril. There is growing evidence that the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW) is directly linked to fossil fuel production. Workers relocate to construction sites to build pipelines, creating temporary housing communities known as "man camps" near the pipeline route, which is oftentimes on or next to tribal nation lands. Studies, reports, and Congressional hearings have found that man camps lead to increased rates of sexual violence and sexual trafficking.
"We need a just transition to renewable, sustainable energy, not expansion of fossil fuel extraction," the signatories declare. "We demand respect for our rights and sovereignty as Indigenous Peoples so that we can control our own lands, futures, and job opportunities."
The letter lays out a way forward for the financial institutions.
"Rather than exploit the tar sands sector for its last drops of profit in the face of climate crisis and disregard the health and safety of communities along pipeline routes, your company can accelerate a just transition for Indigenous nations, communities, and workers that depend on the industry for their livelihoods by publicly ruling out involvement in these tar sands projects and redirecting your insurance underwriting to communities and renewable, clean energy," the women wrote.
According to Joye Braun, Cheyenne River Sioux, organizer with Indigenous Environmental Network, the tar sands industry has been "nothing more than evil incarnate."
"We must put a stop to them," said Braun. "We must stand and say enough is enough. Join us in saving our future. Join us putting the proverbial nail in the coffin of these dying, unneeded industries."
Reposted with permission from Common Dreams.
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Thirty of the world's largest investors, who together control $5 trillion in assets, have pledged to cut the greenhouse gas emissions of their portfolios by as much as 29 percent in five years.
The investors, who include Allianz, the Church of England and the California Public Employees' Retirement System, are all part of the UN convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance. The group formed in 2019 with the goal of reducing the emissions of their investment portfolios to net zero by 2050 and limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. On the road to that goal, the group announced their 2025 Target Setting Protocol Tuesday, which includes the goal to reduce emissions across members' portfolios by 16 to 29 percent of 2019 levels by 2025.
"According to the UNEP Emissions Gap Report, every year of postponed emissions peak means that deeper and faster cuts will be required," UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative leader Eric Usher said in a press release. "The Target-Setting Protocol represents world-leading progress on the required emissions reductions from some of the biggest investors in the world."
To reach their goal, the investors will pinpoint the 20 companies most responsible for their portfolios' emissions, The Guardian explained. They will also set specific targets for highly emitting sectors like oil and gas, transport and utilities.
Some financial institutions have acted on the climate crisis by divesting entirely from certain companies or refusing to fund certain ventures. For example, Norway's largest private asset manager divested in August from companies that lobby against climate action or make more than five percent of their revenue from coal or oil sands. The Net-Zero Asset Owners Alliance, however, takes a different approach, seeking instead to engage with the companies it invests in in order to push the overall economy towards a just transition to renewable energy.
"Although decarbonization of portfolios could be easily achieved by selling carbon intensive investments, it is highly questionable if such actions alone would have a positive impact on the real economy," the group explained in the press release. "Additionally, it might undermine Alliance members ability to engage with these [companies] to effect reductions in the real economy."
Part of that engagement means encouraging companies to share regular reports on their climate actions and to craft plans to green their business, according to The Guardian. The alliance itself will also release yearly reports, and plans to grow its membership to 200 or the assets under its control to $25 trillion.
"Alliance members start out by changing themselves and then reach out to various companies to work on the change of their businesses," Alliance Chair Günther Thallinger, who serves on the board of management for Allianz SE, said in the press release. "Reaching net-zero is not simply reducing emissions and carrying on with the business models of today. There are profound changes and opportunities that will come from the net-zero economy, we see new business opportunities and strong wins for those who are ready to lead."
The alliance is part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change's (UNFCCC's) broader Race to Zero campaign, in which cities, companies and investors work to increase the number of entities that have committed to net-zero emissions by 2050 or earlier, Business Green reported. The plan is to have as many as possible commit before the next major UN climate summit, the delayed COP26.
Correction: An earlier version of this article said that Norway's largest hedge fund divested from companies that lobby against climate action. The article has been updated to identify the fund as Norway's largest private asset manager.
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By Ajit Niranjan
When private equity giant Blackstone invested in alternative milk maker Oatly this summer, furious customers pledged to boycott the dairy-free drink.
"Blackstone investments have been linked with deforestation activities in Brazil," wrote British local produce shop Buth Bharraigh in a tweet announcing they would stop selling Oatly products.
"I don't want my money going to the destruction of the planet ... just so that I can have a creamy coffee in the morning!" wrote sustainability influencer Laura Young in Instagram and Twitter posts that were shared thousands of times.
They criticized Oatly for enabling Blackstone — an investment firm managing $564 billion (€478 billion) in assets — to greenwash climate-damaging investments. "Learn how we're backing sustainable, plant-based alternatives to dairy with our investment in @oatly," Blackstone wrote on its Instagram page.
The social media spat between a corporate giant, a "woke" food brand and disenchanted customers is part of a wider debate about the role of capital in fighting climate change. It has grown more significant in the food sector as investors start to divest from the highly polluting meat and dairy industries, and consumers look for sustainable alternatives.
Divesting From Deforestation
Meat production is the biggest driver of tropical deforestation. Driven by demand for foods like burgers and milk, rainforests are burned to create land for cattle ranches, and to grow soy that is then mostly fed to livestock.
Blackstone, which has invested billions of dollars in the fossil fuel sector, partly owns Hidrovias do Brasil, a Brazilian logistics company that was linked to deforestation in the Amazon rainforest by U.S. news organization The Intercept last year. A spokesperson for Blackstone told DW the deforestation claims were "completely false and wholly fabricated."
Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman is a major donor to U.S. President Donald Trump, a climate-science denier who has rolled back environmental regulations and brought the U.S. out of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.
'Systemic Risks'
Pressured by customers, campaigners and policymakers, some food companies are starting to assess their own ecological footprints.
In 2018, McDonald's pledged to clean its supply chains and cut its emissions. In July, Brazilian food processing giant Marfrig said it would remove deforestation from its production chain by the end of the decade.
Then, in September, JBS, the world's biggest meat-processing company, said it would monitor its entire supply chain to cut out deforestation by 2025. Its announcement came two months after investor Nordea Asset Management said it would divest holdings of about €40 million in the company because of a lack of engagement on environmental issues.
Last year, after fires devastated the Amazon rainforest, a group of 251 investors called for a reduction in deforestation, identifying its environmental impacts as "systemic risks" to their portfolios.
Biodiversity and climate change matter to agricultural markets at risk of extreme weather and environmentally conscious consumers, said Matt McLuckie, research director at Planet Tracker, a UK-based nonprofit that aims to redirect capital toward sustainable development. "The trends are not looking positive for these agricultural producers, particularly in the beef sector."
Alternative Sources of Protein
The IPCC, the gold-standard on climate science, has said climate change could in part be slowed by switching to plant-based diets, particularly in richer countries. This is where oat milk comes in.
Oatly, the biggest player in the alternative milk industry, is valued at $2 billion, and is considering an initial public offering that could push that up to $5 billion, Bloomberg News reported in September. For a business whose core product is made by mixing two cheap and readily available ingredients — oats and water — the Swedish food company founded in the 1990s has seen incredible growth since entering the U.S. market four years ago.
While campaigners have spent years pressuring the financial world to take their money out of dirty investments like fossil fuel companies, little attention has been paid to finance in the agriculture sector, which is responsible for about a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions.
Shareholders are also typically the ones pressuring companies they own to improve their environmental record, and not the other way around.
The backlash against Oatly's partnership with Blackstone is fascinating because it's "looking through the other end of the telescope," said Daniel Firger, managing director at climate finance consultancy Great Circle Capital Advisors. "The target of so many people's anger here is Blackstone, a private equity group. And private equity, as compared to other parts of the financial markets, has not really had as much scrutiny."
Diverting Capital to Climate Change
By accepting a $200 million investment from a group led by Blackstone and including U.S. talk-show host Oprah Winfrey, musician Jay-Z and actor Natalie Portman, Oatly said it was diverting capital to sustainable causes. The returns Blackstone makes from the investment could inspire other private equity firms to green their portfolios, it said in a statement justifying its decision.
"We have to have a fundamental shift in basically everything we do: the way we eat, the way we move, the way we live," Ashley Allen, chief sustainability officer at Oatly, told DW. "The only way to do that, in my mind, is to incentivize finance toward those solutions and disincentivize finance toward high-carbon, high-risk, high-polluting entities."
Asked whether Oatly would set red lines on who could invest in it — for instance, fossil fuel companies — Allen said she wasn't sure. "I haven't been part of any discussions on that."
Oatly is not the first ethical food brand to anger customers by accepting money from an investor with a poor environmental record. U.S. ice cream producer Ben and Jerry's — which champions its commitment to social justice — was bought out in 2000 by Unilever, a global conglomerate that has come under fire from campaigners for deforestation and plastic pollution.
In recent years Unilever has begun to engage more with critics on environmental issues, threatening to sell off brands that do not contribute positively to society. But is still a major contributor to plastic pollution, for instance, responsible for more than 70,000 tons of plastic pollution a year, according to a report published in March by NGO Tearfund.
While it's important for activists to draw attention to inconsistencies in investments, said Firger, the scale of the climate emergency means hundreds more companies like Oatly need to grow as fast as they possibly can. "I'm not one for purity tests. I feel like we don't have time to waste."
Reposted with permission from DW.
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By Jessica Corbett
In another win for climate campaigners, leaders of 12 major cities around the world — collectively home to about 36 million people — committed Tuesday to divesting from fossil fuel companies and investing in a green, just recovery from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The announcement from C40 Cities — a global network of communities dedicated to tackling the climate emergency — came on day two of Climate Week NYC, some of which is being held online because of the COVID-19 crisis.
"Now is the time to divest from fossil fuel companies and undertake investment and policy change that prioritizes public and planetary health, building back a more equal society and addressing this climate emergency," declared New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
"In New York City, we know that taking action on climate change is not optional," added de Blasio, whose community has been hit hard by the pandemic. "As we recover from COVID-19, we must make our cities even stronger."
In 2018, de Blasio and London Mayor Sadiq Khan established the first-of-its-kind Divest/Invest Forum to help city leaders shift money away from fossil fuels and toward the creation of low-carbon jobs. Khan said Tuesday that his city has "demonstrated that divestment is possible and indeed essential for our future."
"Through our work with New York and C40, I'm delighted to bring together 10 more cities to join us in taking Divest/Invest action," he added. "As the world recovers from COVID-19, we need to work together to ensure a fairer, fossil-fuel-free green recovery."
Berlin, Bristol, Cape Town, Durban, Los Angeles, Milan, New Orleans, Oslo, Pittsburgh and Vancouver have all signed on to C40's declaration, "Divesting from Fossil Fuels, Investing in a Sustainable Future."
We are proud to be one of 12 cities around the world committing to @c40cities' declaration “Divesting From Fossil… https://t.co/qelg6N2x7o— LDNMayor Environment (@LDNMayor Environment)1600791776.0
"We're in a make-or-break decade for the preservation of our planet and our livelihoods," said C40 chair and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. "Our declaration makes a clear statement: If we're serious about a sustainable, just, and prosperous future, we have to put our money where our mouth is, remove public dollars from companies harming the Earth, and power our cities with bold investments in low-carbon industries."
Specifically, the mayors are committing to taking all possible steps to divest city assets from fossil fuel companies and increase investments in climate solutions; calling on pension funds to follow suit; and advocating for fossil-free and sustainable finance by other investors and all levels of government. A C40 statement called the declaration "a critical next step towards realizing the vision for a Global Green New Deal, announced last October at the C40 World Mayors Summit in Copenhagen, Denmark."
The mayors' latest move comes as western U.S. states including California battle unprecedented wildfires while the Gulf Coast recovers from Hurricane Sally and prepares for the possibility of more storms. Scientists have emphasized that both the intense blazes and slow-moving, destructive hurricanes are connected to global heating that results from human activity, especially the burning of fossil fuels.
"The declaration sends a loud clear message to the fossil fuel industry," said 350.org executive director May Boeve, whose advocacy group has spearheaded demands for a green, just recovery. "As we watch wildfires burn in the U.S. and devastating floods in parts of Africa, we know that fossil fuels are not a safe investment: the sector is too volatile to be deeply vulnerable, it is time to divest from fossil fuels and invest in the green and just recovery of the future."
Globally, over $200 billion in COVID-19 recovery funding has been pledged to fossil fuels. Boeve argued that "it is essential to ensure that today's investments do not lock-in polluting technologies and carbon-intensive industries. Investments should instead support the solutions we need to avert climate breakdown, create good jobs, advance environmental justice, and support livable communities."
Signatories to the C40 declaration agree. "Pulling out of climate-damaging and ethically problematic investment strategies is a key step in the transition to a sustainable economy," said Michael Müller, governing mayor of Berlin. "The fact that C40 cities are taking this ambitious step and actively promoting divestment sends an important political signal."
Last year, the Vancouver City Council took action to divest city and staff pensions from fossil fuels. By signing the declaration, said Mayor Kennedy Stewart, "we are furthering this work, which aligns with City Council's 2019 vote to unanimously recognize a global climate emergency and local climate crisis."
Former Vancouver City Councillor Andrea Reimer participated Tuesday in an NYC Climate Week event, hosted by Stand.earth, about local efforts to facilitate "a just transition to renewable energy, a green recovery, and a livable climate."
We’re live at #ClimateWeekNYC! Our “Cities Lead: Phasing Out Fossil Fuels” event is happening 2-3:30pm ET today. Fo… https://t.co/c4cpi7KlQU— Stand.earth (@Stand.earth)1600797624.0
The event — which also featured speakers from Stand.earth, Baltimore, Berkeley, and King County, Washington — included sample policies, success stories and resources for grassroots organizers and local government leaders.
Reposted with permission from Common Dreams.
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Mining Company CEO Forced to Resign After Blasting of 46,000-Year-Old Aboriginal Site
The chief executive officer and two senior executives are being forced out of the mining giant Rio Tinto several months after investors started to revolt over the company's destruction of an ancient aboriginal rock shelter, according to CNN.
CEO Jean-Sebastian Jacques will leave in March 2021, while two senior executives, Chris Salisbury, iron ore chief executive, and Simone Nieven, head of corporate relations who had the responsibility of handling relations with Indigenous communities, will leave at the end of 2020, according to Forbes.
The 48-year-old chief executive is being forced out after investors listened to a continuing outcry from the Indigenous people of Australia who were horrified that Rio Tinto would trounce upon their sacred ground and blast away the ancient Juukan Gorge rock shelters, two culturally significant rock shelters in Western Australia's Pilbara region. Despite knowing the importance of the grounds to the the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people, Rio Tinto blasted the site in order to mine a better quality of iron ore, according to The Guardian.
The company's board responded to the move by cutting executive pay and stripping the three executives of $7 million in bonuses, but investors lined up to denounce that penalty as inadequate.
"There were certainly some shareholders who felt strongly that the accountability was inappropriate and that this was an issue that needed to be addressed to rebuild trust," said Rio Tinto Chairman Simon Thompson to The Sydney Morning Herald.
"While there is general recognition of the transparency of the board review and support for the changes recommended, significant stakeholders have expressed concerns about executive accountability for the failings identified," the company said in a statement, as The Guardian reported.
The wanton destruction of the site has shed light on the remarkable power the mining industry has over sacred, traditional lands. It has shown the need for greater legal guarantees to make sure heritage sites are protected.
A spokesperson for the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people told The Sydney Morning Herald, "Our focus continues to rest heavily on preserving Aboriginal heritage and advocating for wide-ranging changes to ensure a tragedy like this never happens again. We cannot and will not allow this type of devastation to occur ever again."
Among the prominent shareholders to express their misgivings were several large Australian investment funds and a group of 81 British pension funds. Also, the National Native Title Council in Australia said the board was divorced from reality in thinking that the pay cuts were somehow just punishment for destroying a 46,000-year-old site, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
"There is more work to be done," said Jamie Lowe, chief executive for the National Native Title Council, as The Guardian reported. "The law needs to be strengthened. We can't rely on the goodwill of mining companies, we need the law strengthened. We can't rely on their word that things will get better."
"What happened at Juukan was wrong," Thompson said Friday to The Sydney Morning Herald. "We are determined to ensure the destruction of a heritage site of such exceptional archaeological and cultural significance never occurs again at a Rio Tinto operation."
Ian Silk, the chief executive of Australia's biggest superannuation fund, AustralianSuper, said that he was "satisfied that appropriate responsibility has now been taken by executives at Rio Tinto," according to The Guardian,
"Rio can now work with traditional owners to guarantee that its processes are appropriate for the protection of culturally important sites and that it has the right internal accountabilities," he added, as The Guardian reported.
Additionally, the Australian Center for Corporate Responsibility applauded Friday's announcement as an end to the "dishonest malaise of Rio Tinto's board and senior management," according to The Guardian.
While the news of the executives departing is welcome, the institutional investors who have the clout to spur action within the company said the company would have to take steps to repair its relationship with Australia's Indigenous people.
"Rio Tinto now has the opportunity to address the necessary remediation, cultural heritage and risk processes with fresh eyes," said Louise Davidson, chief executive of the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors, which advises 38 large super funds on governance issues, to The Guardian.
"Rio Tinto must prioritise working with traditional owners the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people to rebuild their relationship. It is critical that this is not delayed," she added.
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Norway’s Largest Private Asset Manager Divests in Chevron, Exxon for Lobbying Against Climate Action
A Norwegian hedge fund worth more than $90 billion has become the first major financial institution to divest from companies that lobby against action on the climate crisis, The Guardian reported Monday.
Storebrand, as the fund is called, is the largest private asset manager in Norway, according to Reuters. As part of its new policy, it dumped its shares in major U.S. oil companies ExxonMobil and Chevron, as well as in mining giant Rio Tinto and German chemical company BASF.
"The Exxons and Chevrons of the world are holding us back," Storebrand chief executive Jan Erik Saugestad told The Guardian.
Storebrand announced the divestments as part of a wider set of new climate policies Monday.
– We are not only vulnerable to the systemic disruptions that #climatechange will unleash on ecosystems, societies… https://t.co/PgDrZl1hAb— Storebrand (@Storebrand)1598523456.0
In addition to divesting from companies that lobby against the Paris climate agreement and climate change regulations, the fund will also:
- Make investment decisions in line with scientific consensus and the goals of the Paris agreement
- Divest from companies that make more than 5 percent of their revenues from coal or oil sands
- Make decisions that maintain nature's ability to store carbon dioxide, with a special focus on stopping deforestation
- Increase investments in low-carbon companies
- Connect with energy companies with a view towards encouraging them to transition towards renewable sources
- Provide regular progress reports
- Inform clients about low-carbon, sustainable investment funds
"We aim to maintain our position as a leading provider of sustainable solutions," Saugestad said in a statement. "With this policy we will excel and improve our work on climate and greening the financial system. We will use all the tools at our disposal, including divestment, investing more in solutions and engaging with companies in order to achieve substantial change."
The divestment, completed this year, represented a small share of the fund's assets, Bloomberg News reported. The fund divested a total of $47 million, almost half of it from Exxon and Chevron.
In response, both oil companies said they supported the goals of the Paris agreement and are investing in low-emission technologies.
"[Exxon] is focused on the dual challenge of meeting the growing demand for energy and minimizing environmental impacts and the risks of climate change," spokesman Casey Norton told Bloomberg News in an email.
Chevron, meanwhile, said it was considering a shareholder vote that would encourage transparency around climate lobbying.
UK nonprofit InfluenceMap has reported that Exxon, Chevron, Shell, BP and Total spend around $200 million a year working to delay or block climate policies, according to The Guardian. While the fund did not divest from major European oil companies like BP or Norway's own Equinor, they are not off the hook.
"This initial move does not mean that BP, Shell, Equinor and other oil and gas majors can rest easy and continue with business as usual, even though they are performing relatively better than US oil majors," Saugestad told The Guardian.
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