On Black Friday, a day that historically celebrates consumer power, local climate citizens will converge on the Central Street branch of Chase Bank to protest JPMorgan Chase’s investment of tens of billions of dollars on fossil fuels that are destroying the habitability of the planet.
Since the Paris Climate Agreement was signed, Chase, the nation’s largest bank, has invested $317 billion in fossil fuels, which was one-third more than the second worst fossil bank, according to Banking on Climate Chaos. While in the past year, the bank has made new climate commitments, it has continued to provide services to corporations involved in the fossil fuel industry and deforestation. Last year, Chase provided $51.3 billion in fossil fuel financing.
On Friday, November 26, Chase customers will deliver a letter to the bank branch manager, as well as sign a national letter to Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, urging the bank to get out of the business of climate chaos.
Local activists are expected to meet at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, November 26 at Independence Park, 2063 Central Street, and march to the bank at 1900 Central Street.
“While our state and local governments are taking steps to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions to combat climate change, the last thing we need is for our nation’s banks to side with fossil fuel interests and against the interests of the people,” said Catherine Buntin, of Chicago Area Peace Action, which is one of the event’s organizers.
In addition to Chicago Area Peace Action, other sponsor organizations of the event include Chicago Against Line 3, Extinction Rebellion Chicago, 350 Chicago and Save Our Illinois Lands (SOIL).
Scott Kenemore, what Chase bank is doing with halting funding for arctic drilling, coal mining, and coal powered plants is in part what is known by those who have been watching this for a long time as “Greenwashing”. They attempt to paint their efforts as if they are sympathetic to the movement to save the Earth but in reality Chase bank is one of the top funders for fossil fuels in the world. Also, as far as serving communities of minority, actually the opposite is true according to this link: https://stopthemoneypipeline.com/chase-lends-to-fossil-fuels-companies-but-not-black-communities/ where it says that only 1.9% of its investment in communities goes to black communities.
The point is that SOME divestment from fossil fuels is being made, but MUCH MORE is needed. Their divestment in coal plants and arctic drilling is honorable, but much more needs to be done. In this day and age, in order to keep below 1.5 degree C warming globally and prevent global catastrophe, that is known by the Department of Defense and many other organizations are aware of this, we need to really reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 7% each year and we are not doing this yet. We need to stop all new fossil fuel infrastructure projects completely, as Oil Change International pointed out in their Sky’s Limit report in 2016, and let normal market forces for renewable energy, already much cheaper than fossil fuels in many areas, win out naturally. We also should rely on public transportation and local goods and changing agricultural practices and allowing more Indigenous leadership and consequently Earth harmony wisdom and many other sustainability practices need to be implemented, starting with no new fossil fuel infrastructure projects to stop investing in fossil fuels and allow renewable energy to compete naturally and win out in the marketplace.
It seems to me that there’s good evidence Chase has been a leader in steering investments AWAY from fossil fuels in recent years. According to sources like the Sierra Club, Chase has halted all funding of arctic drilling, coal mining, and/or coal powered plants. https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/jp-morgan-chase-will-halt-financing-arctic-oil-gas-drilling And there’s reason to believe that these pledges by Chase inspired Wells Fargo to make similar declamations.
Chase is also a leader in helping historically disinvested communities. I worked in community banking on the South Side of Chicago (South Shore) for 6 years at ShoreBank (now Providence Bank and Trust). No bank gives more loans to minority-owned small businesses, or to African-American first time home buyers in Chicagoland, than does Chase. As our competitor, it was impossible not to notice this.
Everyone needs to work to make the world more just, equitable, and sustainable. Yet I remain genuinely perplexed as to why Chase is so often the punching bag for activists when they are taking progressive strides that other financial services companies are often not. When you get an idea into your head, you find it in everything.
It is too bad the Manager of the bank didn’t come out and say what Mr. Kenamore has stated. Instead, he hid behind the teller and had another staff member come to the door to tell the bank customer contingent that they would call the police.