EXTINCTION REBELLION VOWS TO KEEP THE PRESSURE UP AS CITI INVESTORS REFUSE TO TAKE ACTION ON CLIMATE AND INDIGENOUS RIGHTS
April 27, 2023
xrnyc_press@unitedrebellion.com
New York, NY - Despite Citi shareholders rejecting two resolutions related to climate justice and Indigenous rights at the Annual General Meeting, Extinction Rebellion activists persisted with their three-day sit-in at the bank’s headquarters in New York City, which concluded on Wednesday. In addition, they carried out direct action at seven bank branches across the city. The activists aim to exert pressure on the banking industry, with a particular focus on Citi, the second-largest fossil fuel funder in the world. Graffiti with phrases like "Climate Criminals" and "No New Oil" were spray painted to draw attention to the banking industry's poor sustainability record.
Despite investing over $800 million in ConocoPhillips, the company involved in the controversial Willow oil drilling project in Alaska, and funding methane gas (LNG) projects in Texas and Louisiana, Citi insists that it is doing all it can to be a good climate citizen. A Citi spokesperson claims that the organization has financed or directly facilitated nearly $350 billion in environmental and social activity. However, Extinction Rebellion NYC sees this as greenwashing. According to Shayok Mukhopadhyay, a spokesperson for the group, "The bank is rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic while it sinks. Funding green projects means nothing if at the same time Citi continues to finance the expansion of fossil fuels."
Fossil fuel projects and companies supported by Citi and other financial institutions are responsible for harmful carbon emissions that scientists have linked to extreme weather events that have caused, and will continue to cause, widespread death and destruction. A recent report from the organization Banking on Climate Chaos revealed that US banks had loaned more than $4.6 trillion to the fossil fuel industry since the Paris climate accords were reached in 2016.
Mark Graham, an Extinction Rebellion NYC spokesperson and former Citigroup employee, said, "The banks are at the intersection of funding climate chaos. By having a sustained presence and staying overnight at Citi’s headquarters, we aim to be impossible to ignore and hope that employees realize that they are the prime audience for the bank’s greenwashing, and that is unacceptable. Employees need to know that they have the power to advocate for real climate action from within."
The most recent climate report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that there is a “rapidly closing window of opportunity” to address the growing crisis of rising global temperatures. While other global banks have recently committed to major policy changes, including HSBC ending funding for new fossil fuel projects, and Danske no longer offering refinancing or new long-term financing for oil and gas projects, Citi has yet to make a similar commitment. Extinction Rebellion NYC calls on Citi and other banks to stop financing all new fossil fuel extraction and to pressure existing clients to transition to a business model in which fossil fuels have no place.
For photos and videos of the protests, visit the link here.