Faith Community Calls on US Banks to Cease Fossil Fuel Financing

New York, NY    In the face of mounting environmental catastrophes across the globe, some 98 religious and ethical organizations and individuals have called on five US banks to cease financing fossil fuel projects due to their destructive impact on life-giving climate systems.

The interfaith group has directed their urging to Bank of America, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, TD Bank and Wells Fargo stating that to “endeavor to proceed full-speed ahead with the very practices causing this destruction is as irrational as it is patently immoral.”

This message bears particular importance in light of the international gathering of financial institutions, the Equator Principles Association, in São Paulo, Brazil on October 24, 2017 where climate policies will be under review.  The urgent need to safeguard the planet and all its life forms demands a rapid transition to renewable energy sources, as the only rational response to the massive devastation constantly before our eyes. It would behoove the financial sector to protect their own interests from soaring costs and stranded assets by accompanying this change. Most importantly, it would place a human face on a sector whose policies stand in contradiction to the basic tenets of all religious and ethical bodies the world over.  To fail to do so would condemn future generations to an unlivable world.  Given the short window remaining to stave off irreversible climate chaos, as members of the human race, we must act swiftly and decisively.

Letter to Banks

To:

• Bank of America: President, CEO and Chairman Brian Moynihan
• Citibank: CEO Michael Corbat
• JPMorgan Chase: Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon
• Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD): Group President and CEO Bharat Masrani
• Wells Fargo: CEO Timothy J. Sloan
• Faith Community Calls on US Banks to Cease Fossil Fuel Financing

October 22, 2017

It is now abundantly clear that planetary warming is and will continue producing apocalyptic hurricanes, uncontrollable wildfires, life-denying droughts, unbearable heat, epic floods, and now, inevitable sea level rise ─ just as scientists have been predicting for decades.  There can no longer be any doubt, except among those who choose to deny the facts.  The anguish and devastation of recent extreme weather events at home and across the globe shock the imagination.

To ignore reality and endeavor to proceed full-speed ahead with the very practices causing this destruction is as irrational as it is patently immoral.  It would signify a deliberate attempt against life systems that currently hang by a thread ─ inconceivable for any logical being.

And yet we see great political and economic powers determined to do precisely that, blinded by the lust for profit at any cost.  Short-term gain that results in irreparable suffering and misery cannot be countenanced on a human level nor in our shared convictions as persons of faith.

As leaders of major financial institutions you play a pivotal role in determining the fate of this earth. You can choose to continue to provide funding and incentives for activities that imperil life, or you could place the resources you control at the service of a livable future.

Investing in fossil fuels is not only an injustice against all of Creation but is economic folly. They represent a dying industry and one whose costs cannot be sustained. Indeed, the human tide rising against them is shifting the focus to life-giving energy sources, to the rational choice of renewables, which assures business sense and a more just world.

Signatories of the June 2013 Equator Principles, now numbering 91 financial institutions spanning 37 countries, agreed that project finance would:

 “…ensure that the Projects we finance and advise on are developed in a manner that is socially responsible and reflects sound environmental management practices. We recognise the importance of climate change, biodiversity, and human rights, and believe negative impacts on project-affected ecosystems, communities, and the climate should be avoided where possible…

We believe that adoption of and adherence to the Equator Principles offers significant benefits to us, our clients, and local stakeholders through our clients’ engagement with locally Affected Communities. We therefore recognise that our role as financiers affords us opportunities to promote responsible environmental stewardship and socially responsible development, including fulfilling our responsibility to respect human rights by undertaking due diligence in accordance with the Equator Principles.”

(The Equator Principles, June 2013, Preamble, p. 2; http://www.equator-principles.com/resources/equator_principles_III.pdf

As Equator Principles Financial Institutions (EPFIs) and U.S. banks, it is incumbent upon you to uphold these principles.  We therefore are compelled to call upon you to redirect your efforts away from deadly fossil fuels and instead invest in life-promoting renewable energy.   Banks were created to serve the public interest, and it is the community’s funds that constitute your reserves.  They must be invested wisely and to   benefit the common good.  An increasing number of persons and institutions are divesting from organizations that support fossil fuels.  Some 798 institutions and 58,000 individuals worldwide ─from faith-based to educational to local governments─ have divested their assets; this month alone an additional 40 Catholic institutions did likewise.  To date, over $5.53 trillion dollars have been moved out of the sector. And municipalities across the country are now being asked to join the three U.S. cities which have already withdrawn their funds from banks that finance fossil fuels.

The accelerating climate crisis presents a moral imperative for urgent action to preserve a climate-stable world. It is ultimately in all of our best interests.  We are heartened by BNP Paribas’ recent decision to halt funding for shale or oil sands projects as well as their transport, i.e. pipelines.  As you enter the 2017 Equator Principles gathering, you have a choice before you. We urge you to choose life.

Sincerely,

• Advocates for Justice, New York, NY
• Advocacy and Ecumenical Outreach, Pennsylvania Council of Churches
• Rabbi Katy Z. Allen, Facilitator, One Earth Collaborative
• Rabbi, Ma’yan Tikvah- A Wellspring of Hope
• Dr. Michelle Alexander, Visiting Professor of Systematic Theology, Union Theological Seminary, New York, NY
• American Ethical Union, A Federation of Ethical Societies
• Nkosi Anderson, M. Div., New York, NY
• Rev. Dr. Jim Antal, Minister and President, Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ
• Dr. Sarah Azaransky, Assistant Professor of Social Ethics, Union Theological Seminary, New York, NY
• Beloved Earth, Riverside Church NYC
• Rev. Trevor R. Babb, Rector, Christ Church New Brighton, Staten Island, NY
• Katherine C. Bini, New York, NY
• Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi, Chair, Buddhist Global Relief
• Rev. Jacob Bolton, Associate Pastor, Huguenot Memorial Church, Pelham, NY
• Rev. Dr. Cláudio Carvalhaes, Associate Professor of Worship, Union Theological Seminary, New York, NY
• Catholic Network.US
• Dr. Hyun Kyung Chung, Associate Professor of Ecumenical Studies, Union Theological Seminary, New York, NY
• Colorado Interfaith Power and Light
• Colorado Youth Climate Council
• Rev. Dr. James H. Cone, Bill and Judith Moyers Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology, Union Theological Seminary, New York, NY
• Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, US Province Leaders
• Sr. Michaela Connolly, OP, Prioress, Sisters of St. Dominic, Blauvelt, NY
• Margaret Susan Dabney
• Rev. Frederick A. Davie, M. Div., New York, NY
• Sister Carol De Angelo, SC, Sisters of Charity of New York, Office of Peace, Justice and the Integrity of Creation
• Kathy Dean, Coordinator, Hudson River Presbyterian Green
• Rev. Dr. Susan G. De George, Stated Clerk, Hudson River Presbytery, NY
• Delaware Interfaith Power and Light
• Dr. Amandus J. Derr, Senior Pastor, Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church, New York, NY
• Rev. Dr. Gary Dorrien, Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics, Union Theological Seminary, New York, NY
• Rev. Dr. Terence Ellen, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Interfaith Moral Action on Climate
• Environmental Justice & Climate Action, Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC)
• Rabbi Michael Feinberg, New York, NY
• Franciscan Action Network
• Franciscan Response to Fracking
• Victoria J. Furio, Convener, Climate Justice, Union Theological Seminary, New York, NY
• Rev. Jeffrey A. Geary, Pastor, White Plains Presbyterian Church (NY)
• Robert M. Gordon, Vice President, Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County
• Karenna Gore, Center for Earth Ethics
• Rev. Melissa Coe Grewenow, Wedding and Funeral Officiant; Certified Life-Cycle Celebrant, Lake Oswego, Oregon
• Karen Hartman, SFP, US Area Coordinator, Justice, Peace & the Integrity of Creation, Franciscan Sisters of the Poor
• Rev. Jimmie R. Hawkins, Director, Presbyterian Church (USA) Office of Public Witness, Washington, DC
• Rev. Sarah E. Henkel, White Plains Presbyterian Church (NY)
• Sr. Beryl Herdt, O.P., Ph.D., Dominican Sisters, Blauvelt, NY
• Beatrice Hernandez, OSF, MD, Coordinator, Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation, Wheaton Franciscans, Wheaton, IL
• Dr. Jeremy Foreman Hultin, Visiting Associate Professor of Biblical Languages, Union
• Interfaith Moral Action on Climate
• Jewish Climate Action Network- Boston
• Jewish Climate Action Network- NYC
• Rev. Dr. Serene Jones
• Rev. Nancy Kasper, Earth Eden Sanctuary, North Rose, NY
• Dr. Anne Klaeysen, Leader, NY Society for Ethical Culture, Humanist Chaplain, New York University
• Cecelia Lavan, OP, Social Justice Coordinator, Dominican Sisters of Blauvelt, NY
• Jeff Levy-Lyons, Steering Committee, Jewish Climate Action Network – NYC
• Rabbi Mordechai Liebling, Director, Social Justice Organizing Program, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, Wyncote, PA
• Nancy Lorence, Coordinating Team, Metro NY Catholic Climate Movement
• Rev. Dr. Daisy Machado, Professor of American Religious History, Union Theological Seminary, New York, NY
• John Major, New York, NY
• John Mateyko, RA, President, Delaware Interfaith Power and Light
• Anita Mentzer, Executive Director, Unitarian Universalist Pennsylvania Legislative Advocacy Network (UUPLAN)
• Metro NY Catholic Climate Movement
• Jason L. Miller, Franciscan Action Network
• Kelly Moltzen, OFS, Board Member, Franciscan Action Network
• Phoebe Morad, Executive Director, Lutherans Restoring Creation
• Rev. Timothy Mulroy, SSC, U.S. Regional Director, Missionary Society of St. Columban
• Ellen Nash, Associate of Sisters of St. Dominic, Blauvelt, NY
• National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
• Rev. Jessica Brendler Naulty, Senior Pastor, United Methodist Church of Red Bank, NJ
• Pax Christi USA
• Rabbi Janise Poticha, Temple Sinai, Massapequa, NY
• Pastor Cheryl Pyrch, Summit Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, PA, Chair, Philadelphia Chapter of Pennsylvania Interfaith Power & Light
• Rev. DeForest L. Raphael, Pastor, AME Zion Church on the Hill, New York, NY
• Dr. Larry Rasmussen, Reinhold Niebuhr Professor Emeritus, Union Theological Seminary, NY
• Rev. Donna Schaper, Senior Minister, Judson Memorial Church, New York, NY
• Cantor Eric Schulmiller, Reconstructionist Synagogue of the North Shore, Plandome, NY
• Jacquelyn Schramm, Coordinator, Franciscan Response to Fracking; Advocates for Justice
• Sisters of St. Dominic of Blauvelt, NY
• David Smith, Elon University
• Rev. Ondrej (Andrew) Stehlik, Th.D., Rutgers Presbyterian Church
• Rev. Sandra L. Strauss, Director of Advocacy & Ecumenical Outreach, Pennsylvania Council of Churches
• Hugh Taft-Morales, Clergy Leader, Philadelphia & Baltimore Ethical Societies
• Stanley T. Talbert. M. Div., New York, NY
• Dr. John J. Thatamanil, Associate Professor of Theology and World Religions, Union Theological Seminary, New York, NY
• Dr. Lisa L. Thompson, Assistant Professor of Homiletics, Union Theological Seminary, New York, NY
• Sarah Tielemans, New York, NY
• Marie Venner, Lakewood, CO
• Bart Warden, Clergy Leader, Ethical Culture Society of Westchester (NY)
• Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Director, The Shalom Center, Philadelphia, PA
• Philip J. Welch, Jr., Lay Servant, United Methodist Church, Middletown, NJ
• Dr. Cornel West, Professor of the Practice of Public Philosophy, Harvard Divinity School
• James G. White, Ethical Culture Leader, Riverdale-Yonkers, NY
• Scott Wright, Director, Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach, Washington, DC
• Bro. Anthony Zuba, OFM Cap., Parochial Staff, Church of the Good Shepherd, New York, NY