Charlotte, NC — As Climate Week kicks off in New York City, and world governments gather at the United Nations in preparation of ratifying the Paris climate agreement, the Bank of America announced its new environmental operations goals will be met by 2020, including its commitment to go carbon neutral and purchase 100 percent renewable electricity. In response to this announcement, Jenny Marienau, 350.org U.S. Campaigns Director issued the following statement:
“It’s significant that the Bank of America is taking steps toward greening its operations, but it’s the Bank’s investments that count. Not only is the Bank of America continuing to invest in fossil fuel companies, but it is also playing a key role in financing dangerous fossil fuel infrastructure like the Dakota Access Pipeline. As long as our financial institutions and governments continue to prop up the fossil fuel industry, we won’t come close to meeting the goals of the Paris climate agreement — and it is our climate and our communities that will suffer the consequences.
“While executives tout these steps toward the renewable energy-powered world we need, we know that it’s not nearly enough. If they don’t prioritize defunding the climate crisis, they are continuing a pattern of prioritizing profit over people, planet, and ethical business practices. As the second largest bank in the US, with nearly $2.2 trillion in assets, the Bank of America has the ability, not to mention a greater responsibility, to actually move money away from the fossil fuel economy to prioritize people and planet. ”
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For more information on who’s financing the Dakota Access Pipeline, visit: https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/news/who’s-banking-dakota-access-pipeline