New Video: Rainforest Action Network on Banks and Climate Change

Climate change is the single biggest threat to our planet, yet Donald Trump and his fossil fuel led administration continue to claim climate change is a hoax and jam through dirty energy projects like the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines. Fortunately, one of the strongest and most effective allies in the fight against Trump’s wholesale hand over of our country to the fossil fuel industry, Rainforest Action Network (RAN), is taking the administration and funders of these dirty fossil fuel pipelines head-on.

This June, CREDO was honored to host Lindsey Allen, RAN’s executive director, at our headquarters to discuss RAN’s response to the Trump administration and Wall Street’s assault on our planet.

Since 1988, CREDO members have voted to donate more than $1.2 million to RAN, and for nearly 30 years, CREDO has been a strong supporter of RAN’s work and partnered with the organization to challenge corporate power and defend the climate and human rights.

During her visit, Allen explained that one of best strategies RAN employs to slow climate change and stop construction of oil pipelines is by holding banks accountable for financing fossil fuel projects. Each year, RAN releases a coal financing report card that details the enormous role the global banking system plays in funding the coal industry. Pressure from RAN and its allies have forced the hand of nine major American and European banks to commit to phasing out coal financing.

Building on its successful work fighting the coal industry, RAN is now following the money and applying pressure on banks for funding projects like the Keystone XL pipeline, noting that if all of the fossil fuel reserves that are on the books for the banking industry were extracted and emissions were released into the atmosphere, global temperatures could rise up to six degrees.

Allen summed up her organization’s critical work holding banks accountable for financing climate change, saying:

“By following commodities and the money, we’ve honed our strategies to make sure that some of the largest financial companies in the world are not financing fossil fuels and other commodities that would result in a game over scenario.”

Although the fossil fuel industry has deep ties to the Trump administration, Allen sees hope to combat climate change in the current political environment. Donald Trump’s erratic and dangerous actions, including pulling out of the Paris climate agreement, have motivated untold amounts of people to become activists and take political action, and the energy is growing by the day, adding:

“Democracy isn’t a vote every four years. Stable climate isn’t something for someone else. When I get out of bed, I’m motivated by stories of people working together.”

You can watch the entire Facebook Live event below: