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LOCAL News :: Civil & Human Rights : Environment : Globalization : Protest Activity

Protest Bank One and Reform Global Finance

Bank One and its parent JPMorgan Chase are using thier customers' money to fund environmental destruction around the world. Tell Bank One to match its competitors in adopting ethical investment standards.

At at time when the global economy ignores the environment, human rights and social justice in pursuit of narrowly defined, short term economic interest, the Rainforest Action Network has persuaded two of the nation's largest banks to embrace environmental and social responsibility. JPMorgan Chase, owner of Chicago's Bank One, is next in line, the largest US bank still investing in mass destruction.

Some of the world's worst environmental destruction is done by international "development" projects, especially resource extraction such as oil drilling, mining and logging. The harm can be immediate damage to people's homes and water supplies, or indirect damage done by the paramilitaries hired to "protect" the projects. Although these projects are typically unaccountable to the public, they depend on banks' willingness to invest in them. The Rainforest Action Network's global finance campaign has shown that we have real power over these consumer banks. Last year, grassroots and consumer pressure forced two of the nation's largest banks, Citigroup and Bank of America, to adopt ethical investment standards. Bank One, now a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase, is next.

Bank One, part of the most environmentally destructive bank in the country, is headquartered here in Chicago. JPMorgan Chase continues to invest in corporations that recklessly fuel global climate change, that support illegal logging, and that disregard indigenous people's rights. The financial security and funding for these investments of mass destruction comes from consumer banking--people's credit cards, checking and savings accounts.

JPMorgan Chase acquired Bank One in an effort to expand its consumer banking division, and depends on projected growth in the midwest. In Chicago, we have unique leverage over JPMorgan Chase, as an opportunity to initiate a massive shift in the global economy. Getting Chase and Bank One to adopt ethical investment standards would directly eliminate a huge source of harmful investment. It would also mean that three largest banks in the US observed ethical investment standards. Faced with that precedent, the entire finance industry would follow.

Investment standards work. Last month, Citigroup CEO Chuck Prince announced that Rimbunan Hijau, a Malaysian logging giant with a well-documented history of human rights abuses and illegal logging ativities, must obtain credible third party certification of compliance with Citi's new policy. Meanwhile, JPMC is providing loans and financial services to bring Bluelinx, a major importer of illegally logged wood from Indonesia, onto the New York Stock Exchange. "These illegal loggers are like terrorists," said Nabiel Makarim, the former environment minister of Indonesia, referring to Indonesia's massive unlawful clear-cutting. "It is difficult to combat illegal logging because we must face financial backers and their shameless protectors."

These standards are not just about logging, and not just about the environment. Citigroup and Bank of America's policies also require that corporations respect foreign laws and give local communities and indigenous groups affected by investments a seat at the table. We are calling on JPMC to take the following steps:

  1. immediately phase out all funding and investment for extractive industries (oil, gas, mining, logging) in endangered ecosystems;
  2. commit to support the right of indigenous and local populations to have free and prior informed consent to projects on their lands;
  3. commit to independent third party chain-of-custody certification in regions where over 50 percent of logging is illegal;
  4. prioritize funding for sustainable alternatives, such as Forest Stewardship Council certified logging projects and clean energy sources such as solar and wind power;
  5. provide and promote retail financial products including energy efficient and energy improvement mortgages to encourage mainstream adoption of clean energy sources;
  6. commit to reduce investments in greenhouse gas producing industries, beginning with an immediate ban in new funding for coal.
  7. To ensure that Bank One and JPMorgan Chase follow the precedent set by their competitors, call CEO William Harrison at (212) 270-4019 or send him an email. Local activists are holding regular protests at the Bank One headquarters and branch offices, including the planned National Day of Action on April 12th. To get involved, email chicago@ran.org or call 1-800-989-RAIN.

 
 

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