Alec Connon, alec@stopthemoneypipeline.com, 206-258-9176
WASHINGTON, DC — Today, 36,000 people and 118 climate, environmental, and human rights organizations who are part of the Stop the Money Pipeline coalition delivered a petition and letter to state treasurers and management of major public pensions across the country, calling on these financial officers to vote yes on climate and Indigenous rights resolutions at upcoming banks and insurance companies’ shareholder meetings.
"By voting YES on critical climate and Indigenous rights resolutions at banks and insurance companies this spring, investors can help stop this pattern of financial risk mis-management, environmental racism, and climate denialism," reads the letter.
Participating organizations included the Sierra Club, alongside groups like Amazon Watch, Hip Hop Caucus, Public Citizen, Rainforest Action Network, Stand.earth, and Texas Campaign for the Environment. The Sierra Club contributed 1,600 signatures to the letter.
“Public pensions in states such as California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, and New York, control trillions of dollars for millions of public employees and retirees. Unfortunately, in recent years, the people elected and hired to manage that money have frequently been voting against common sense climate resolutions introduced by shareholders at banks and insurance companies. As we witness ever more climate-driven extreme weather events, that needs to change,” stated Alec Connon, Stop the Money Pipeline coalition co-director.
The global financial giant, Swiss Re, has estimated that the world stands to lose close to ten percent of total economic value by mid-century if climate change stays on the currently anticipated trajectory. If the world warms by 3.2°C, the economic losses will hit $23 trillion by 2050, or eighteen percent of global economic value. In such a scenario public pensions would experience significantly poorer returns than would otherwise be expected.
“Public pension fund officers have an obligation to protect their members from both the financial volatility and physical destruction of the climate crisis. They must do their job by voting yes on climate and Indigenous rights resolutions at bank and insurance shareholder meetings this spring”, stated Arielle Swernoff, Stop the Money Pipeline’s US Banks Campaign Manager.
Read the letter and all of the signatories here.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.