As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day tomorrow, a group of New York City Council members announced a resolution Monday calling for the city to divest from financial institutions that back the fossil fuel industry. The move comes after sustained campaigning by climate justice groups and is supported by the Stop the Money Pipeline campaign. JPMorgan Chase, BlackRock and Liberty Mutual are some of the companies targeted by the resolution. Earlier this month, Reuters reported JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Citigroup are preparing to seize oil and gas assets as energy producers reel from the oil industry crash. This is 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben, speaking during a virtual press conference announcing the resolution.
Bill McKibben: “Unlike political change in Washington, change on Wall Street could come, A, very fast, because when banks and things make announcements, they move stock markets within minutes, and, B, could come globally. Washington, for better and — better mostly, doesn’t really rule the world anymore, but Wall Street still kind of does. And so, the things that happen in New York with money are of absolute, first-order importance in this fight, especially given how little time we have.”