Environmental groups call for JPMorgan Chase to drop climate denier Lee Raymond from board
WASHINGTON – Friends of the Earth U.S., Rainforest Action Network, Sierra Club, 350BK and Sunrise NYC delivered a letter signed by 47,000 supporters calling on JPMorgan Chase to remove former ExxonMobil CEO Lee Raymond from the bank’s Board of Directors during JPMorgan Chase’s Investor Day, today in New York City.
The call for Raymond’s removal follows JPMorgan Chase’ new policy statement on fossil fuel financing for coal and Arctic oil and gas. The policy improvements, resulting from years of campaigning by the indigenous Gwich’in Steering Committee and environmental groups, are not enough to curb the majority of the impact JPMorgan Chase’s fossil fuel financing has on the climate, local communities and the environment. Notably, the policy allows the bank to continue providing tens of billions of dollars per year to other climate-damaging fossil fuel projects including tar sands, fracking, pipelines and liquid natural gas.
“JPMorgan Chase’s climate policy revision is good news for the Arctic, but not enough for the rest of the world. Their weak attempt doesn’t stop the majority of their fossil fuel financing, and fails to protect the environment and local communities,” said Doug Norlen, Friends of the Earth’s economic policy program director. “As long as JPMorgan Chase has climate-denying board members at the helm, it will remain at the top of the list of the worst fossil fuel financing banks.”
Expert contact: Doug Norlen, (510) 900-3143, [email protected]
Communications contact: Aisha Dukule, (202) 893-3502, [email protected]