Five financial firms are funding the oil extraction business in the Amazon rainforest despite promising to act to mitigate the climate crisis. (Photo: Catedral Verde - Floresta Amazonica/Wikimedia)
Mar 12, 2020
A new report from the group Amazon Watch shows how five of the world's largest financial institutions are funding the exploitation of the Amazon Rainforest for oil--even as those firms claim to be on the side of mitigating the climate crisis.
"Five of the world's most powerful financial institutions are actively contributing to climate change by providing debt and equity financing for crude oil extraction projects in the Amazon," reads the report.
\u201cFinanciers: Your investments in #AmazonCrude and #deforestation are likely to become stranded assets and are tainted with #IndigenousRights violations across the Amazon rainforest. @Citi @GoldmanSachs @BlackRock @JPMorgan @Chase @HSBC #StopTheMoneyPipeline https://t.co/qyWJhmQG5u\u201d— Andrew E. Miller (@Andrew E. Miller) 1584018607
The five banks--Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, and BlackRock--"have made available tens of billions of dollars for oil companies operating in the Amazon, including GeoPark, Amerisur, Frontera, and Andes Petroleum," according to the report.
\u201cBreaking! New @AmazonWatch report shows @Citi @GoldmanSachs @BlackRock @JPMorgan @Chase @HSBC oil extraction in the western Amazon:\n \n\u2714 Destroys the rainforest\n\u2714 Violates indigenous rights\n\u2714 Escalates the climate crisis\n \n#StopTheMoneyPipeline https://t.co/zqqSH7vsBI\u201d— Center for International Environmental Law (@Center for International Environmental Law) 1584024722
The five firms have enjoyed good press recently for their stated commitment to curbing the climate crisis and making investment choices around saving the planet.
But, Amazon Watch said in an accompanying multimedia toolkit, the firms are instead "pouring money into crude oil extraction in the western Amazon, despite explicit opposition from indigenous groups on the ground and the worsening of the climate crisis that such activity promotes."
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
A new report from the group Amazon Watch shows how five of the world's largest financial institutions are funding the exploitation of the Amazon Rainforest for oil--even as those firms claim to be on the side of mitigating the climate crisis.
"Five of the world's most powerful financial institutions are actively contributing to climate change by providing debt and equity financing for crude oil extraction projects in the Amazon," reads the report.
\u201cFinanciers: Your investments in #AmazonCrude and #deforestation are likely to become stranded assets and are tainted with #IndigenousRights violations across the Amazon rainforest. @Citi @GoldmanSachs @BlackRock @JPMorgan @Chase @HSBC #StopTheMoneyPipeline https://t.co/qyWJhmQG5u\u201d— Andrew E. Miller (@Andrew E. Miller) 1584018607
The five banks--Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, and BlackRock--"have made available tens of billions of dollars for oil companies operating in the Amazon, including GeoPark, Amerisur, Frontera, and Andes Petroleum," according to the report.
\u201cBreaking! New @AmazonWatch report shows @Citi @GoldmanSachs @BlackRock @JPMorgan @Chase @HSBC oil extraction in the western Amazon:\n \n\u2714 Destroys the rainforest\n\u2714 Violates indigenous rights\n\u2714 Escalates the climate crisis\n \n#StopTheMoneyPipeline https://t.co/zqqSH7vsBI\u201d— Center for International Environmental Law (@Center for International Environmental Law) 1584024722
The five firms have enjoyed good press recently for their stated commitment to curbing the climate crisis and making investment choices around saving the planet.
But, Amazon Watch said in an accompanying multimedia toolkit, the firms are instead "pouring money into crude oil extraction in the western Amazon, despite explicit opposition from indigenous groups on the ground and the worsening of the climate crisis that such activity promotes."
A new report from the group Amazon Watch shows how five of the world's largest financial institutions are funding the exploitation of the Amazon Rainforest for oil--even as those firms claim to be on the side of mitigating the climate crisis.
"Five of the world's most powerful financial institutions are actively contributing to climate change by providing debt and equity financing for crude oil extraction projects in the Amazon," reads the report.
\u201cFinanciers: Your investments in #AmazonCrude and #deforestation are likely to become stranded assets and are tainted with #IndigenousRights violations across the Amazon rainforest. @Citi @GoldmanSachs @BlackRock @JPMorgan @Chase @HSBC #StopTheMoneyPipeline https://t.co/qyWJhmQG5u\u201d— Andrew E. Miller (@Andrew E. Miller) 1584018607
The five banks--Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, and BlackRock--"have made available tens of billions of dollars for oil companies operating in the Amazon, including GeoPark, Amerisur, Frontera, and Andes Petroleum," according to the report.
\u201cBreaking! New @AmazonWatch report shows @Citi @GoldmanSachs @BlackRock @JPMorgan @Chase @HSBC oil extraction in the western Amazon:\n \n\u2714 Destroys the rainforest\n\u2714 Violates indigenous rights\n\u2714 Escalates the climate crisis\n \n#StopTheMoneyPipeline https://t.co/zqqSH7vsBI\u201d— Center for International Environmental Law (@Center for International Environmental Law) 1584024722
The five firms have enjoyed good press recently for their stated commitment to curbing the climate crisis and making investment choices around saving the planet.
But, Amazon Watch said in an accompanying multimedia toolkit, the firms are instead "pouring money into crude oil extraction in the western Amazon, despite explicit opposition from indigenous groups on the ground and the worsening of the climate crisis that such activity promotes."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.