TD Bank
- Details
- Published on Monday, 14 January 2019 09:42
- Written by editor
Urge Canadian banks to not finance the destruction of the Arctic
As soon as this upcoming summer, the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge could be going to the highest bidder for oil drilling. The Gwich’in call the coastal plain “Iizhik Gwats’an Gwandaii Goodlit” or “the sacred place where life begins.” It’s the calving and nursery grounds of the Porcupine Caribou Herd, a key food source for the Gwich’in people.
Donald Trump is pushing this destructive project through. That’s why we have to stop banks and investors from funding drilling projects that could wreck the Arctic Refuge. This includes pressuring the Big Five Canadian banks.
TAKE ACTION NOWEvery year the Porcupine Caribou Herd undertakes a 4,000 kilometer long migration across Yukon, Alaska, and the Northwest Territories, before giving birth to their calves on the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge. Because of the coastal plain’s relative lack of predators and its abundance of food for the caribou, the Refuge is a safe haven for their newborn calves. Oil drilling or any industrial activity would be devastating to caribou calves.
Earlier this year, institutional investors with more than $2.5 trillion in assets sent a letter to oil companies and banks urging them not to invest in drilling in the Arctic Refuge. In addition, some of the world’s largest banks -- like HSBC, BNP Paribas, Societe Generale -- have committed to stay away from oil and gas development in the Arctic region. Canadian banks need to do the same.
Already Canada’s top banks are doing their part to accelerate climate change and undermine Indigenous rights by throwing oodles of funding at tar sands projects. But because they’re overachievers, executives at these banks may decide to go further and directly fund Arctic destruction too. Let’s tell them this does not look good.
Standing up to Big Oil can seem like a daunting task. We know it won’t be easy. But we know it is possible—because at Stand.earth, that is what we do. When Kinder Morgan wanted to expand its pipeline in Canada and carry dirty tar sands through critical wildlife habitat, we joined together with communities throughout BC to follow the leadership of First Nations and fight back against this terrible idea. When the people stand together, extraordinary things happen.
The world is quickly shifting to renewable energy, and soon enough, fossil fuels will be a thing of the past. If we can stop or delay dirty projects like this for just a few years, it's likely that they won't ever happen, because our economy will have moved on and new fossil fuel projects will no longer make economic sense. And more importantly, destroying the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge will never make moral sense.
Join the growing movement to defend the Arctic Refuge from greedy oil interests.
In solidarity,
Liz McDowell
Director of Digital and Campaign Strategies
Stand challenges corporations, industries, and governments to prioritize the well-being of people, our environment, and our climate by creating long-term, effective solutions. None of this work is possible without your support. DONATE $5 San Francisco office: 650 California Street, 7th Floor, San Francisco CA 94108 On traditional Chochenyo and Karkin Ohlone Lands
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