“If we can stop the flow of money, we can stop the flow of oil.”
In January, a coalition of environmental, youth, and Indigenous groups, including the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), Greenpeace, and the Sierra Club, formed a new, people-powered movement called Stop the Money Pipeline. Our mission: to cut off the cash flow that’s fueling the climate crisis. And with the backing of celebrities, like Jane Fonda, Ted Danson, and Joaquin Phoenix, we’re not alone.
But when the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the world, the fossil fuel industry and their financial backers began their own campaign to exploit the moment and turn the global pandemic into a lifeline for the industry — a desperate ploy to delay the inevitable transition to a green-energy economy. Now, they’re lobbying hard for government bailouts and environmental rollbacks to protect their “essential businesses,” when the reality is that the oil, gas, and plastic sector was in dire straits long before the global pandemic. With widespread debt, stock market underperformance, and general skepticism of fossil fuels’ long-term viability, their financial concerns stretch far beyond shelter-in-place orders and a drop in air travel.
Despite the oil and gas industry’s maneuvers, now is the time to build a just and sustainable recovery from COVID-19 — one that protects communities, health, and the climate. The fossil fuel industry’s current (and long-term) instability presents a global opportunity to accelerate the shift to clean energy. From the fossil fuel industry’s decade-long status as the worst-performing sector in the S&P 500, to oil prices recently dropping to an all-time low, it’s clear that fossil fuels are not the future.
Follow the Money
For decades, we’ve known that the extraction and use of fossil fuels are directly fueling the climate crisis. This realization has, in part, contributed to the financial instability of the industry. But the companies doing the drilling aren’t the only ones to blame; the financial system that is funding, insuring, and investing in extractive industries is at fault, too. Take BlackRock, for example. The world’s largest asset manager also happens to be the world’s biggest private investor in fossil fuels and deforestation, having invested $87 billion into the expansion of fossil fuels to date. Another serial offender, JPMorgan Chase, earns the title of the world’s top banker of fossil fuels; it has poured $196 billion into fossil fuels just since the 2016 passage of the Paris Agreement (you know, the agreement to reduce fossil fuel emissions).
Ironically, as these companies continue to finance fossil fuel extraction at a blistering pace, they’re also harming their own bottom lines. Many oil and gas reserves are increasingly difficult to access, meaning companies go to greater lengths, take more risks, and spend more money to access them — even as the global price of oil has declined for a decade. For these reasons, investment in these products is risky at best and a complete money pit at worst. By pouring more money into fossil fuels, big banks are sowing the seeds of their own (and, by extension, our) destruction.
Despite BlackRock’s recent announcement that “climate change has become a defining factor in companies’ long-term prospects,” many of these companies still show little sign of slowing down their fossil fuel investments. According to the Global Gas & Oil Network’s 2019 Oil, Gas and the Climate report, it’s estimated that oil and gas companies will invest an additional $1.4 trillion into new oil and gas extraction projects over the next five years. This expansion will almost certainly push the world past the 1.5°C warming threshold set by the Paris Agreement.
Cut Off the Cash Flow
While going after Wall Street may seem less direct than targeting, for example, oil and gas companies or the Trump Administration, the reality is that these financial backers play the essential role of sustaining the fossil fuel industry’s expansion. Staunching the cash flow from major financial players like BlackRock, JPMorgan Chase, and Liberty Mutual is one of the most effective ways to keep fossil fuels in the ground, which is vital if we are to limit global emissions effectively.
Given the lack of action from global governments during the last climate conference, pressuring financial actors is more important than ever. Stop the Money Pipeline isn’t afraid to publicly take action against these funders of climate destruction. Earlier this year, the campaign teamed up with Fire Drill Fridays to hold a protest on the steps of the US Capitol and a sit-in at a nearby Chase Bank, during which over 100 people were arrested, putting their bodies on the line to denounce the companies funding the climate crisis. In recent months, the focus has shifted to exposing Wall Street and the fossil fuel industry’s attempts to exploit the coronavirus pandemic and siphon off funds that should be supporting workers, families, and the millions of people on the frontlines of the crisis.
In the shift to virtual demonstrations, Stop the Money Pipeline hasn’t slowed down. Just this month, the coalition secured a major win when JPMorgan Chase demoted former Exxon CEO, Lee Raymond, from his board leadership role. The success of Stop the Money Pipeline parallels the broader success of the global divestment movement, which has already secured fossil fuel divestment commitments from over 1,190 institutions with more than $14 trillion in total assets.
Join the Action
Wielding name-and-shame tactics like cutting up Chase credit cards and empowering people to “break ties with fossil funders,” Stop the Money Pipeline offers a unique opportunity for everyone to participate. If you’d like to join and take part in future actions, you can:
- Tell Wall Street and Congress to put people before polluters in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
- Pledge not to bank with the largest financiers of the fossil fuel industry, opting to choose banks that prioritize people and the planet, such as these.
- Join individual campaigns targeting the worst offender in each sector of the financial system, including against JPMorgan Chase, Liberty Mutual, and BlackRock.
- Target state public pension funds in the US that control more than $4 trillion in assets by participating in “Fossil Free” campaigns, like the ones in California and New York, or by writing a letter to your pension fund.
- Find a university divestment campaign to urge campuses to divest from the fossil fuel industry, or start your own.
- Sign up for updates from Stop the Money Pipeline to learn about events like teach-ins on climate finance and how to responsibly divest.
Together, we can put an end to the fossil fuel expansion that’s driving the climate crisis; it’s time to follow the money and Stop The Money Pipeline.
By Aaron Raubvogel, Communications Intern, and Taylor Black, Communications & Development Associate
Originally posted on May 15, 2020