The Federal Reserve won’t save us from climate chaos. What will?

In this summer of global climate chaos – Hawaii burned, the Panama Canal ran dry, Greece underwater (and also on fire), millions of Americans living under heat advisories this week (and most weeks this summer) – the Federal Reserve held a week long meeting on “Reassessing Constraints on the Economy and Policy.” But Fed Chair Jerome Powel never mentioned climate change once, and instead instructed his goon squad to forcibly ejected our friends from Climate Defiance who were trying to call attention to the climate crisis.

You could chalk it up to another example of the Biden Administration missing the “action” in #ActOnClimate, but a new report also just found that banks pouring trillions to fossil fuel expansion in global south – more than $3 trillion since the Paris Climate Agreement was adopted, and they all pledged to reduce emissions.

The Fed is America’s central bank, and if they wont act to stop the money pipeline fueling global climate chaos, we need to look elsewhere. So today we’re asking you to sign this petition urging members of Congress to support and pass the Fossil Free Finance Act! And then we’re asking you to sign up and join us in the streets of New York City Next week as we take action all over Wall Street to demand an end to fossil finance once and for all!

We’ve been telling you for years that to stop climate change, we have to stop funding fossil fuels. Yet, the world’s largest banks continue to support the major drivers of the climate crisis, pouring $668.6 billion into fossil fuel companies last year alone.

So we’re glad that climate champs Sen. Edward Markey, Reps. Ayanna Pressley, and Rep Rashida Tlaib have reintroduced the Fossil Free Finance Act, which would require big banks to stop financing greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Building support for this legislation in Congress is an essential step to stopping the money pipeline. And signing this petition with partners is a great way to encourage more members of Congress to get on board, and demonstrates our growing movement for fossil fuel divestment fast and fair – sign on now!

But the bill isn’t likely to get a hearing or pass the Senate filibuster any time soon. So we also need to take Non Violent Direct Action that confronts the financiers of climate chaos directly. Next week, we’re helping to support a wave of direct actions every day in new York City in the lead up to the global climate strikes and the march to end fossil fuels. There will be lots of actions focussed on banks, insurers, and the global financial system. If you can get to New York and join us, please do! If you can’t make it to NYC, check out global listings for climate strikes September 15-17, and see if you can bend the arc towards fossil finance actions.