February, 24 2021, 11:00pm EDT
Investors With Nearly $250 Billion In Assets Urge Big Banks to Dump Mountain Valley Pipeline
Money managers see the controversial fracked gas project as a reputational and financial risk.
WASHINGTON
Today, investors representing $244.9 billion in assets under management sent letters to ten of the biggest banks in America urging them to stop funding the controversial fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) due to the "climate, financial, and reputational risks" associated with it. The letters also highlight how MVP is misleading investors and the public by claiming the project is 92% complete, when "MVP's own documentation shows that... only about half of the pipeline is complete to final restoration."
The controversial project is over three years behind schedule and has nearly doubled its original budget, the result of a rushed and shoddy permitting process that has not withstood legal challenges. In addition to the extraordinary delays and cost overruns, regulators have imposed millions of dollars in penalties on MVP for violating over 350 environmental and water protections. Moreover, it was the subject of a criminal investigation and continues to face intense and ongoing grassroots opposition and is nowhere near finished, with the steepest and most challenging sections of its 304-mile route still remaining. The uncertainty surrounding the project reminds analysts and industry watchers of similar problems that led to the cancellation of the nearby Atlantic Coast Pipeline and many are openly wondering if the project will ever be completed at all.
The banks that received letters are JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Scotiabank, TD Bank, Deutsche Bank, MUFG Banks, PNC, Citigroup, and Bank of America.
In response, Peter Krull, Founder, CEO & Director of Investments at Earth Equity Advisors, released the following statement:
"We have always prioritized clean energy and sustainable industries in our portfolios. However, because there is limited data available regarding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion metrics, we feel accountable to use our voice in this industry where we can. In this case, that is to help protect vulnerable communities that would be impacted by Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP)."
In response, Lauren Compere, Managing Director, Boston Common Asset Management, released the following statement:
"Fracked gas infrastructure such as the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) are quickly becoming stranded assets. Given the escalating financial, environmental, and social risks of this project, we strongly urge banks to re-evaluate any further financing to EQT and other developers and backers of this project."
In response, Vincent Kaufmann, CEO at Ethos Foundation, released the following statement:
Given the world's need to achieve net zero GHG emissions by 2050, the risk of fossil fuel assets with long life cycles, such as the Mountain Valley pipeline, becoming stranded assets looms large. In addition, fracked gas comes with several environmental issues. Thus, we strongly urge banks to cease financing of the Mountain Valley pipeline to protect their shareholders as well as the environment."
In response, Ben Cushing, the Sierra Club's Campaign Manager for Financial Advocacy, released the following statement:
"The MVP is over three years behind schedule, has nearly doubled its original budget, and is bogged down in a self-inflicted permitting quagmire with no apparent resolution on the horizon. The institutions dumping funds into this unnecessary fracked gas project are just pouring their money into a 300-mile long money pit, and these investors want to make sure the big banks know it. It's time for Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and other big banks to stop supporting this billion-dollar boondoggle."
The Sierra Club is the most enduring and influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. We amplify the power of our 3.8 million members and supporters to defend everyone's right to a healthy world.
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Responding to the GOP senator's latest thwarting of the PRESS Act, Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden vowed to "keep trying to get this bill across the finish line" before Republicans take control of the Senate next month.
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Republican U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas on Tuesday again blocked the passage of House-approved bipartisan legislation meant to shield journalists and telecommunications companies from being compelled to disclose sources and other information to federal authorities.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) brought the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying (PRESS) Act—which would prohibit the federal government from forcing journalists and telecom companies to disclose certain information, with exceptions for terroristic or violent threats—for a unanimous consent vote.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) argued Tuesday that passing the PRESS Act is "more important now than ever before when we've heard some in the previous administration talk about going after the press in one way or another," a reference to Republican President-elect Donald Trump's threats to jail journalists who refuse to reveal the sources of leaks. Trump, who has referred to the press as the "enemy of the people," repeatedly urged Senate Republicans to "kill this bill."
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Trump has picked Harmeet Dhillon as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. She has stated that it must be "made unsafe" for hospitals to provide trans care, and frequently shares Libs of TikTok posts. She intends to target trans people in blue states. Subscribe to support my journalism.
[image or embed]
— Erin Reed (@erininthemorning.com) December 10, 2024 at 8:14 AM
Reed continued:
Dhillon's most prominent work includes founding the Center for American Liberty, a legal organization that focuses heavily on anti-transgender cases in blue states. The organization's "featured cases" section highlights several lawsuits, such as Chloe Cole's case against Kaiser Permanente; a lawsuit challenging a Colorado school's use of a transgender student's preferred name; a case against a California school district seeking to implement policies that would forcibly out transgender students; and a lawsuit against Vermont for denying a foster care license to a family unwilling to comply with nondiscrimination policies regarding transgender youth.
Reed also highlighted Dhillon's attacks on state laws protecting transgender people, as well as her expression of "extreme anti-trans views" on social media—including calling gender-affirming healthcare for trans children "child abuse."
Last year, The Guardian's Jason Wilson reported that the Center for American Liberty made a six-figure payment to a public relations firm that represented Dhillion in both "her capacity as head of her own for-profit law firm and Republican activist."
Writing for the voting rights platform Democracy Docket, Matt Cohen on Tuesday accused Dhillon of being "one of the leading legal figures working to roll back voting rights across the country."
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As Maya Wiley, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said in a statement Tuesday, "The Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division has the critical responsibility of enforcing our nation's federal civil rights laws and ensuring equal justice under the law on behalf of all of our communities."
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