Massachusetts is DOWN WIND of the nation's Dirty Coal Power Plants.
Renewable Energy puts Americans to work!
Dirty Coal destroys the environment, leaves environmental destruction and contamination in its wake.
MOUNTAINTOP REMOVAL contaminates drinking water, destroys communities. COAL
ASH PITS around the nation are unlined, jeopardizing drinking water. [We have some in Massachusetts.]
This is Brayton Point:
Coal fouls the air, increasing health costs.
Let's end Dirty Coal/Dirty Air for our kids.
Divestment makes sense.
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After years of pressure on Bank of America, they just announced a new coal mining policy: “Our new policy … reflects our decision to continue to reduce our credit exposure over time to the coal mining sector globally.”1 |
This is a huge moment. Bank of America has gone from being the worst bankroller of coal to having the strongest global coal mining policy of any major global bank. It’s the result of years of hard-hitting campaigning by RAN, our many front-line allies — and by you and all of RAN’s supporters in this fight. So, thank you for everything you’ve done.
Now, we have to hold Bank of America to its word by
rigorously monitoring their implementation of this policy. And second, we have
to push other banks to meet or exceed Bank of America’s coal mining
policy. There are just a few short years left to meet the challenge of
climate change. We need to build on this victory to stop the coal industry using
big banks as ATMs.
I’m writing to you from the Bank of America shareholder meeting in
Charlotte, NC, where I came to hear today’s announcement in person. RAN has been
at this meeting every year since 2011 to make the case that the bank should
divest from coal mining. I'm thinking about the many allies whom we have
stood here with throughout this campaign. Allies like Paul Corbit
Brown, whose stunning photographs and eloquent advocacy have made it impossible
for Bank of America to ignore the destruction that mountaintop removal coal
mining has done to his home state of West Virginia. Allies like Pat Moore, who
was so outraged by Bank of America funding the coal-fired power plants in her
community, while her granddaughter suffered through asthma attacks, that she led
a civil disobedience action here in Charlotte. I’m thrilled to share this moment
with them.
When we started this campaign in 2011, most banks were basing their
wafer-thin “climate commitments” around efficient lightbulbs in their branches
and green-certified headquarters. Other banks felt that modest investments in
renewable energy allowed them to ignore their huge investments in fossil fuels.
After four years of hard work, Bank of America's coal mining policy
represents a sea change: it acknowledges that they're responsible for the fossil
fuels that they bankroll. This is a huge paradigm shift.
When we first approached Bank of America about instituting a
responsible coal policy, they told us they were “diametrically opposed to our
position on coal”. They said they aspired to be “number one in every
sector” — including the fossil fuel sector. We took on Bank of America
because they were the hardest target: they were the most resistant to stopping
doing business as usual.
Today, with Bank of America’s new coal policy, we’ve reached
a huge milestone. Now we have to make sure they’re as good as their
word. Will you help us do that by chipping in
today?
This new policy is the strongest to date of any global
private-sector bank — but it can’t be the only one. Across the
financial sector, we don’t need big banks to change the lightbulbs at their
corporate headquarters, we need them to stop bankrolling fossil fuels that are
killing the climate. Coal, oil and gas need to be left in the ground.
We’re going to push other banks to own up to the climate consequences
of their financing decisions, and meet or exceed Bank of America’s policy. Time
is running out to stop catastrophic climate change. We can’t meet the challenge
of our era unless the big banks profiting from fossil fuels drop their support.
Along with our allies — and supporters like you — we’ll build on today’s
success to turn this into a truly sector-wide change.
But we can’t do it without you. Support that work today!
In gratitude, for our communities and the climate,
Amanda
Amanda
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Amanda Starbuck Climate and Energy Program Director Rainforest Action Network |
P.S. To celebrate the hard work of our allies and supporters in this
fight, we’ve put together a timeline of key moments in the
years-long campaign against Bank of America. Check it out!
Sources:
1. “BREAKING: Bank of America dumps coal mining in
sweeping new policy”, Rainforest Action Network, http://www.ran.org/breaking_bank_of_america_dumps_coal_mining_in_sweeping_new_policy
Rainforest Action Network
425 Bush Street, Suite 300
San Francisco, CA 94108
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