Direct Action At Citigroup HQ on Investor Day
Press Release: For Immediate Release
March 2, 2022
Contact: xrnyc_press@unitedrebellion.com
Extinction Rebellion NYC Carried Out Direct Action At Citigroup HQ on Investor Day
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New York, NY - Extinction Rebellion NYC held a die-in at the Citigroup headquarters as employees walked into work on the morning of the bank’s Investor Day. According to the Rainforest Action Network, Citi is the second largest funder of fossil fuel companies among all global banks and the largest US funder of coal, the dirtiest and most destructive source of energy on the planet. Extinction Rebellion NYC demands Citi commit to ending fossil fuel expansion and setting concrete, time bound targets now.
The group is also calling out Citi for its relationship with Lukoil, the second largest producer of crude oil in Russia, and the country’s third largest oil and gas company. Citigroup is listed as the depositary bank for Lukoil's American Depository Receipt programs and holds over 30% of Lukoil’s shares outstanding. In March 2018, Cambridge Analytica discussed "political targeting" of American voters with Lukoil representatives–demonstrating that although Lukoil may be a private entity, it acts as an agent of Russian national leadership. Oil and gas exports have financed Putin’s military capacity, and any ongoing relationship between Citi and Lukoil enables Putin's war of aggression, abuse of human rights, and erosion of democracy.
The latest United Nations’ IPCC report says that many of the impacts of global warming are now simply irreversible, and humans and nature are being pushed beyond their abilities to adapt. Deeper and faster cuts to greenhouse gas emissions are the only way to limit catastrophic warming. Although Citi has demonstrated that it is willing to go further than any other US bank by releasing a net zero pathway with absolute emission reduction targets, the plan does not entail how Citi will step away from the actual cause of climate chaos: fossil fuels.
“The climate and ecological crisis is here now and Citi needs to stop the greenwashing. If they are sincere about tackling the climate crisis, their actions need to be commensurate with the magnitude of this crisis. They need to minimize the suffering and destruction brought about by decades of complicity” said Kerith Creo, a spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion NYC.
Co-Sponsors of the event were NY Communities for Change (@ny4change), Climate Votes (@ClimateVotes), Bank On Our Future (@bankonourfuture), and Amazon Watch (@amazonwatch).
Photos and videos for the event can be found here.
Extinction Rebellion NYC’s key demands are:
1. Government must tell the truth by declaring a climate and ecological emergency, working with other institutions to communicate the urgency for change.
2. Government must act now to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025.
3. Government must create and be led by the decisions of a Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice.
4. Government must commit to a just transition in order to maintain a livable, just planet for all.
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Hashtags: #StopTheHarm #ChangeIsNow #NoNewFossilFuels #ActNow #TellTheTruth