Is Your Bank Financing Fossil Fuel Companies? This App Lets You Find Out.

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Across the froyo machine in CleanTechnica’s posh rooftop solarium and yoga studio, a number of workers members had been speaking this week about how you can cease doing enterprise with banks that finance fossil gasoline tasks and put their cash into monetary establishments which are funding clear vitality investments as an alternative. It’s a steadily requested query, however there have been few good solutions — till now.

We Don’t Have Time is a corporation whose mission is to wake us all from our reverie through which we assume that somebody, someplace will discover a answer to world overheating and save us from having to do a lot of something to keep away from a sixth extinction occasion. You may assume it wouldn’t take a lot to get that message throughout, for the reason that headlines on a regular basis are about droughts, floods, wildfires, and rising sea ranges. All we’ve got to do is look out our window to know issues are altering and never in a great way.

Nonetheless, as Bill McKibben says“capitalism — which regularly acts homicidally — is acting truly suicidally. Having been warned for years now, it resists every effort to rein in its excesses. As Exxon’s CEO helpfully explained earlier this year, it’s not that you couldn’t make good money from renewable energy, you just couldn’t make ‘above average returns’ because sunshine is free. So instead we’ll tank the world, and with it the world economy.”

McKibben mentioned that it’s not simply the megabanks doing it. Regional banks are getting in on the act as properly, spurred on by the anti-ESG insurance policies created by a number of crimson States. BOK Monetary in Oklahoma not too long ago grow to be one of many world’s 30 busiest dealmakers in fossil fuels. Marisol Salazar, a senior vice chairman, says the financial institution is now seeing “much more opportunities” within the fossil gasoline business. “We’re not just picking up customers. We’re also picking up talent, we’re picking up engineers, we’re picking up investment bankers, we’re picking up experienced relationship managers.”

The Carbon Bankroll 2.0 report launched not too long ago made it clear that for a lot of corporations — Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft, amongst others — the majority of their carbon emissions are associated to the money they carry on deposit in banks that lend it out to construct extra fossil gasoline infrastructure. That report says, “If the largest banks and asset managers in the U.S. were a country, they would be the third-largest emitting country in the world, behind only China and the US.”

Transfer The Cash!

We Don’t Have Time has created an app that lets folks such as you and me discover out what our financial institution is doing with our cash. If it seems it’s not appearing in accordance with our needs, we will discover different banks that do and transfer our cash over there. On the earth of digital finance, it’s straightforward to do on-line. Go to the WDHT web site to download the app.

To get stakeholders (that’s — you and me) to begin transferring their cash at scale, they want quick access to details about how a lot their banks, pension suppliers, or different institutional buyers are literally investing in fossil fuels. The brand new app permits anybody to seek for their financial institution or pension supplier and immediately see their fossil gasoline investments. The app presently has entry to information for greater than 7,000 corporations. About half of that quantity is now searchable on the WDHT platform, with extra coming quickly.

“When searching for this data on We Don’t Have Timethe great thing is that you will also get information on new investment policies that haven’t yet affected the data,” WDHT says. “If you, for instance, search for Danske Bank, you will see that it has invested $1,236 million in coal, oil, and gas. But you will also see that Danske Bank has recently taken significant steps to reduce its investments in fossil fuels. So what are you waiting for? Start searching for your own bank or pension provider. If you find that they invest in fossil fuels, contact them and ask about their divestment plans. If you’re unsatisfied with the response, use your consumer power and Move the Money!”

Will it make a distinction if one among us strikes our cash round? No, in fact not. But when a couple of thousand or a couple of hundred thousand folks do, then sure, it’ll make a distinction. We by no means had a straightforward approach of discovering out who was doing what with our cash earlier than, however now we do with the WDHT app.

Nick Nutall On Fossil Gasoline Funding

On Earth Day, Nick Nuttall, the UN Spokesperson for the Paris Local weather Settlement, spoke at an event sponsored by the Nordic Pension Fund co-hosted by We Don’t Have Time. Here’s a synopsis of of his remarks:

“Allow us to remind ourselves that we have to halve world emissions by 2030 to have a 50/50 likelihood of hitting internet zero mid-century and holding a median world temperature rise no larger than 1.5C. With out finance shifting, we received’t make it. $1.8 trillion is presently invested in clear vitality wants, however the International Energy Agency estimates $4.5 trillion a 12 months can be wanted by 2030. However what if we don’t spend money on decarbonization throughout all sectors in all elements of the globe?

“In different phrases, we sit again, go play golf and have everlasting wild events watching the solar set. Setting apart the struggling and distress that uncontrolled local weather change would trigger, the perfect economics point out not investing in local weather motion would even be financial shot within the foot. The Climate Policy Initiative report says, ‘The longer we delay meeting total climate investment needs, the higher the costs will be both to mitigate global temperature rise and to deal with impacts.’

“What we want is non-public sector finance to step up huge time, not for charitable causes, however as a result of it’s in everybody’s self-interest. Let the temperature soar and plenty of will discover their enterprise fashions underneath stress and maybe at risk of collapse. Sadly, there seems to be a collective schizophrenia right here amongst far too many banks, fairness funds and others in a position to make a distinction, not least in the case of funding or not funding the very substances which are inflicting a lot of the issue– the fossil gasoline corporations.

“The primary funders, in keeping with the Banking on Chaos Report final 12 months, had been US banks like JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citi and Morgan Stanley. However there are additionally European banks within the combine, like BNParibas, Barclays, Deutsche Financial institution and Scotiabank. So, what’s going on, given  that many of those banks say they assist the Paris Settlement and a few are members of one thing referred to as the Internet Zero Banking Alliance?

“Insiders say these banks assume tighter authorities regulation will come, so that they wish to assist as a lot fossil gasoline growth as doable — and make some huge cash — earlier than that occurs. They’re glad, it appears, to lock the world into extra fossil gasoline infrastructure within the title of revenue, even when that infrastructure results in extra local weather change and should quickly be stranded — one other definition of insanity!

We do have decisions about the place we financial institution. We are able to transfer the cash away from the masters of the universe to the fathers and moms of a greater future. The approaching 1 to 2 years are going to be doubtlessly a key window within the historical past of humanity. Governments have to urgently guarantee that there’s transparency within the space of funding funds so buyers could make actual decisions.

“Perhaps new measures, like the EU’s directive on corporate sustainability reporting will help, but overall, progressive investors in equity funds or people with money in banks, need to stand up and be counted to ensure that their money is working for the future, rather than trapping us in the past with all the chilling consequences for every man, woman and child. It is time to move the money!”

The Takeaway

The ability of the web is now out there to every one among us who needs to ship a message to the banking group — We’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it any extra! With assist from the We Don’t Have Time app, we will interrogate 1000’s of banking and funding corporations and know instantaneously which assist our local weather objectives and which don’t. Now that we’ve got that energy, we’ve got to make use of it, each one among us, on a regular basis. We are able to’t permit ourselves to be dazzled by cash-back guarantees and different rewards packages.

In case your financial institution will not be doing what you assume it ought to, lower up its credit score and debit playing cards, shut your accounts, and transfer your cash to an establishment that may put it to work on lending that meets your local weather objectives. Do it now if not sooner. The planet you save could also be your personal.