Wall
Street is destroying the planet with our own savings — so let's move them.
By Todd Larsen
On April 29, hundreds of thousands of people will take
part in the People’s Climate March in DC and around the country. The march will
send a clear message that the majority of Americans understand that climate
change is all too real — and they’ll continue to raise their voices until the
government takes action.
The march is also a great way to inspire people to take action
for climate solutions in their own communities — whether by calling their
elected officials or speaking up at town halls, pushing their local and state
governments to act, or working with schools and houses of worship to address
the climate crisis without waiting for Washington.
If all that’s not for you, there may be an even simpler option:
Move your money.
Many people might not realize that their savings may be working directly against efforts to address climate change. If you bank with any of the largest American banks — including Citibank, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo — then every dollar you put in to your checking and savings accounts is funding fossil fuel development across the country.
The Dakota Access Pipeline? Funded by megabanks. Keystone XL
Pipeline? Same story.
Megabanks are expanding fracking, oil drilling, pipelines,
compressor stations, and export terminals from coast to coast. They’re
underwriting decades of reliance on fossil fuels, and directly undermining the
important work of cutting climate emissions by 80 percent by 2050.
Many big banks claim that they understand the risks of climate
change and promise to increase their investments in the clean energy economy.
Over the next 10 years, Citibank pledges to invest $100 billion
in clean energy. Bank of America says it’ll spend $125
billion by 2025.
But these are pledges, not actual investments. They can’t undo
all the harm that these two behemoths are causing through past and current
investments in fossil fuels.
Between 2013 and 2015, Citibank bankrolled coal-fired power
plants alone to the tune of $24 billion. Over the same period, Bank of America invested at least $10
billion in coal power, $24 billion in liquid gas terminals, and over $29
billion in underwater, tar sands, and Arctic oil extraction.
And, while megabanks have started moving away from financing
coal in wealthy nations like ours, they still bankroll coal in poor nations,
where environmental regulations are weaker.
Ceres, a national nonprofit organization that mobilizes
investors and business leaders to build a green economy, estimates that in
order to keep global temperatures below catastrophic levels, we need to be investing $1 trillion additional dollars per
year in clean energy. Against that, even the big banks’
multi-billion-dollar pledges are insufficient.
It’s not like the banks don’t know this. Citigroup itself
estimates that the climate change impacts will cost us $44 trillion globally over the next 50
years.
So what can we do as average Americans? One thing we can all do
is not let Wall Street destroy the planet with our money. There’s a growing
movement of Americans moving their money away from megabanks and into community
banks and credit unions.
These local
institutions invest in their communities, creating jobs and
housing — not dirty energy projects. Community-based banks and credit unions
are helping to put solar panels on roofs, end food deserts, and help people
start thriving local businesses.
And you can shift your other investments, like your retirement
savings, to fossil-free mutual funds that invest
in clean energy. You’ll get competitive returns, and you’ll know
that your money is working for a cleaner world.
Todd
Larsen is the executive co-director of Green America. Distributed by OtherWords.org.
