For immediate release, January 8, 2019, 1pm PST
High resolution photos available.
San Francisco – As part of a growing trend of actions targeting JPMorgan Chase for its financing of fossil fuels, dozens of activists rallied outside the 37th annual JPMorgan Chase Healthcare Conference this afternoon. The World Health Organization’s latest report underscores that climate change is already having a serious impact on human lives and health and the main driver is fossil fuel combustion, which is also a major contributor to air pollution.
According to the WHO’s report, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year between 2030 and 2050.
“Make no bones about it. JPMorgan Chase is fueling the greatest health threat of our time by financing fossil fuel expansion and accelerating climate catastrophe,” said Tess Geyer, Climate and Energy Organizer at Rainforest Action Network. “This is blood on their hands.”
Most recently JPMorgan Chase increased multiple lines of credit to TransCanada, the company behind the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. This action is a part of a growing trend of protests targeting the bank and its role in financing the climate crisis.
“JPMorgan Chase is promoting health while poisoning our future,” said Patrick McCully, Climate and Energy Program Director at Rainforest Action Network. “Post-IPCC report, the evidence is clearer than ever that to stay under 1.5 degrees climate change, we need a rapid phase-out of fossil fuels. If JPMorgan Chase really cares about health, they need to stop pouring fuel on the fire.”
JPMorgan Chase is the top Wall Street funder of extreme fossil fuels, which include tar sands, Arctic, and ultra-deep offshore oil; coal mining and coal-fired power; and liquefied natural gas export. According to Rainforest Action Network’s report, “Banking on Climate Change 2018,” JPMorgan Chase has greatly increased its financing of extreme fossil fuels in recent years, especially to tar sands oil and coal mining.
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Further Reading:
JPMorgan Chase Fossil Fuel Finance White Paper
Banking on Climate Change: Fossil Fuel Finance Report Card 2018