Extinction Rebellion Occupies Citigroup Headquarters in New York City to Demand End to Financing of All New Fossil Fuel Projects
April 20, 2022
Contact: xrnyc_press@unitedrebellion.com
New York, NY – Extinction Rebellion NYC occupied Citigroup's corporate headquarters in Tribeca as employees walked into work on Wednesday morning. Activists blocked the entrance turnstiles by sitting on the floor, and held banners reading "Denial Equals Death." Six activists also stood on the front desks repeating "Stop funding climate change." It took over 2 hours for the NYPD to remove all of the protestors, and 19 people were arrested.
According to a report from 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. 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 detail how Citi will step away from the actual cause of climate chaos: fossil fuels. The group demands Citi commit to ending fossil fuel expansion and setting concrete, time-bound targets now.
From a tweet put out by Extinction Rebellion NYC this morning: "It’s time for action, not more talk. @Citi has an opportunity to act next week, when a shareholder resolution ending expansion is up for a vote."
The latest IPCC report warns that it is now or never for drastic climate action to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. United Nations Secretary General António Guterres said, “Investing in new fossil fuels infrastructure is moral and economic madness. Such investments will soon be stranded assets — a blot on the landscape and a blight on investment portfolios. But, it doesn’t have to be this way.”
“Net zero plans that do not phase out fossil fuels are an example of dangerous greenwashing. If Citi is sincere about tackling the climate crisis, their actions must line up with the magnitude of the crisis. They need to minimize the suffering and destruction brought about by decades of complicity -- from fueling the climate crisis, to enabling Putin's war, to financing the destruction and human rights abuses in the Amazon," said Greg Bratone, a spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion NYC.
Wednesday’s event is day 8 of the Spring Rebellion in New York City, as Extinction Rebellion protests and actions continue around the world.
Photos and videos of the event can be found here.
About Extinction Rebellion
Time has almost entirely run out to address the climate & ecological crisis, including the sixth mass extinction, global pollution, and abrupt, runaway climate change. Societal collapse and mass death are seen as inevitable by scientists and other credible voices if rapid action is not taken.
Extinction Rebellion believes it is a citizen’s duty to rebel, using peaceful civil disobedience, when faced with criminal inactivity by their Government.
Extinction Rebellion’s key demands are:
Government must tell the truth by declaring a climate and ecological emergency, working with other institutions to communicate the urgency for change.
Government must act now to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025.
Government must create and be led by the decisions of a Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice.
Government must commit to a just transition in order to maintain a livable, just planet for all.
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