SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
On January 29, 2021, hundreds of people gathered in St. Paul, Minnesota to demand that President Joe Biden and Democratic Gov. Tim Walz take action to stop the Line 3 pipeline. (Photo: @ResistLine3/Twitter)
New Campaign Targets Wall Street Funding to Stop Line 3 Tar Sands Pipeline
"We are going to do everything in our power to make it loud and clear to bank executives: They must walk away from Line 3―or there will be consequences."
Feb 07, 2021
A coalition of climate groups ramped up their fight to stop Enbrige's Line 3 pipeline Monday with a new campaign to put a "deluge" of pressure on the financial institutions funding the tar sands project.
"Funding Line 3 is an unconscionable act at any time, but especially during a time when there is but a small window for us to move toward a zero-carbon economy in a way that ensures a future for the next generation simply because some JP Morgan or Bank of America executive prioritize profits over people is sickening," said Alec Connon, co-coordinator at Stop the Money Pipeline, in a statement.
"We won't let them take our future--not without a fight," Connon said.
Canadian company Enbridge's plan to replace a corroding pipeline with a larger one to transport an estimated 760,000 barrels of tar sands oil per day from Alberta, Canada to Wisconsin, via North Dakota and Minnesota, has been met with strong opposition. Recent direct actions included water protectors locking themselves to an excavator at a work site in Minnesota earlier this month.
The new campaign focuses on major U.S.banks including JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, and Bank of America, as well as international banks such as HSBC, Credit Suisse, and Deutsche Bank, all of whom the Stop the Money Pipeline says (pdf) are underwriting the project. The climate activists have got their eyes on an upcoming deadline when the institutions must decide whether or not to renew Enbridge's loan for the pipeline replacement.
Rainforest Action Network, a member of the Stop the Money Pipeline coalition, said the crucial role of the banks is clear. "Without any project finance associated with the pipeline construction, the banks providing Enbridge's general corporate financing are the supporters of this destructive project," RAN said in a December briefing.
"Less than two months from now, on March 31st, 18 banks have a $2.2 billion loan to Enbridge due for renewal," Stop the Money Pipeline co-coordinator Amy Gray said Monday. "Between now and then, we are going to do everything in our power to make it loud and clear to bank executives: They must walk away from Line 3--or there will be consequences."
In a blog post announcing the #DefundLine3 campaign, Tara Houska (Couchiching First Nation Anishinaabe), a tribal attorney and founder of the Giniw Collective, laid out different tactics the campaign would be encouraging its supporters to take:
Every week, we're going to ask you to take an action that helps put pressure on those 18 banks funding Line 3. We'll ask you to send direct emails to CEOs, call board members, take part in Covid-safe street protests, participate in projection actions, join online rallies, and much more.
If enough of us take these actions together, we can make the companies funding Line 3 feel enough pressure that they will walk away from Enbridge.
And that, the coalition says, could have ripple down effects that coud help secure a livable planet.
A successful #DefundLine3 campaign, the groups say, "could serve as the death blow to the entire idea of fossil fuels as environmentally sound or acceptable investments."
Houska, in her post, sounded a hopeful note.
"Together, I know that we can do this," she said. "Throughout history people-powered movements have changed the world. And they sure as hell can stop Line 3."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
A coalition of climate groups ramped up their fight to stop Enbrige's Line 3 pipeline Monday with a new campaign to put a "deluge" of pressure on the financial institutions funding the tar sands project.
"Funding Line 3 is an unconscionable act at any time, but especially during a time when there is but a small window for us to move toward a zero-carbon economy in a way that ensures a future for the next generation simply because some JP Morgan or Bank of America executive prioritize profits over people is sickening," said Alec Connon, co-coordinator at Stop the Money Pipeline, in a statement.
"We won't let them take our future--not without a fight," Connon said.
Canadian company Enbridge's plan to replace a corroding pipeline with a larger one to transport an estimated 760,000 barrels of tar sands oil per day from Alberta, Canada to Wisconsin, via North Dakota and Minnesota, has been met with strong opposition. Recent direct actions included water protectors locking themselves to an excavator at a work site in Minnesota earlier this month.
The new campaign focuses on major U.S.banks including JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, and Bank of America, as well as international banks such as HSBC, Credit Suisse, and Deutsche Bank, all of whom the Stop the Money Pipeline says (pdf) are underwriting the project. The climate activists have got their eyes on an upcoming deadline when the institutions must decide whether or not to renew Enbridge's loan for the pipeline replacement.
Rainforest Action Network, a member of the Stop the Money Pipeline coalition, said the crucial role of the banks is clear. "Without any project finance associated with the pipeline construction, the banks providing Enbridge's general corporate financing are the supporters of this destructive project," RAN said in a December briefing.
"Less than two months from now, on March 31st, 18 banks have a $2.2 billion loan to Enbridge due for renewal," Stop the Money Pipeline co-coordinator Amy Gray said Monday. "Between now and then, we are going to do everything in our power to make it loud and clear to bank executives: They must walk away from Line 3--or there will be consequences."
In a blog post announcing the #DefundLine3 campaign, Tara Houska (Couchiching First Nation Anishinaabe), a tribal attorney and founder of the Giniw Collective, laid out different tactics the campaign would be encouraging its supporters to take:
Every week, we're going to ask you to take an action that helps put pressure on those 18 banks funding Line 3. We'll ask you to send direct emails to CEOs, call board members, take part in Covid-safe street protests, participate in projection actions, join online rallies, and much more.
If enough of us take these actions together, we can make the companies funding Line 3 feel enough pressure that they will walk away from Enbridge.
And that, the coalition says, could have ripple down effects that coud help secure a livable planet.
A successful #DefundLine3 campaign, the groups say, "could serve as the death blow to the entire idea of fossil fuels as environmentally sound or acceptable investments."
Houska, in her post, sounded a hopeful note.
"Together, I know that we can do this," she said. "Throughout history people-powered movements have changed the world. And they sure as hell can stop Line 3."
A coalition of climate groups ramped up their fight to stop Enbrige's Line 3 pipeline Monday with a new campaign to put a "deluge" of pressure on the financial institutions funding the tar sands project.
"Funding Line 3 is an unconscionable act at any time, but especially during a time when there is but a small window for us to move toward a zero-carbon economy in a way that ensures a future for the next generation simply because some JP Morgan or Bank of America executive prioritize profits over people is sickening," said Alec Connon, co-coordinator at Stop the Money Pipeline, in a statement.
"We won't let them take our future--not without a fight," Connon said.
Canadian company Enbridge's plan to replace a corroding pipeline with a larger one to transport an estimated 760,000 barrels of tar sands oil per day from Alberta, Canada to Wisconsin, via North Dakota and Minnesota, has been met with strong opposition. Recent direct actions included water protectors locking themselves to an excavator at a work site in Minnesota earlier this month.
The new campaign focuses on major U.S.banks including JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, and Bank of America, as well as international banks such as HSBC, Credit Suisse, and Deutsche Bank, all of whom the Stop the Money Pipeline says (pdf) are underwriting the project. The climate activists have got their eyes on an upcoming deadline when the institutions must decide whether or not to renew Enbridge's loan for the pipeline replacement.
Rainforest Action Network, a member of the Stop the Money Pipeline coalition, said the crucial role of the banks is clear. "Without any project finance associated with the pipeline construction, the banks providing Enbridge's general corporate financing are the supporters of this destructive project," RAN said in a December briefing.
"Less than two months from now, on March 31st, 18 banks have a $2.2 billion loan to Enbridge due for renewal," Stop the Money Pipeline co-coordinator Amy Gray said Monday. "Between now and then, we are going to do everything in our power to make it loud and clear to bank executives: They must walk away from Line 3--or there will be consequences."
In a blog post announcing the #DefundLine3 campaign, Tara Houska (Couchiching First Nation Anishinaabe), a tribal attorney and founder of the Giniw Collective, laid out different tactics the campaign would be encouraging its supporters to take:
Every week, we're going to ask you to take an action that helps put pressure on those 18 banks funding Line 3. We'll ask you to send direct emails to CEOs, call board members, take part in Covid-safe street protests, participate in projection actions, join online rallies, and much more.
If enough of us take these actions together, we can make the companies funding Line 3 feel enough pressure that they will walk away from Enbridge.
And that, the coalition says, could have ripple down effects that coud help secure a livable planet.
A successful #DefundLine3 campaign, the groups say, "could serve as the death blow to the entire idea of fossil fuels as environmentally sound or acceptable investments."
Houska, in her post, sounded a hopeful note.
"Together, I know that we can do this," she said. "Throughout history people-powered movements have changed the world. And they sure as hell can stop Line 3."
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.