- "Among the concessions that Citi has made lies an
important lesson. Even the largest and most powerful corporations are not
immune to the will of democratic, citizen-led movements for change."
-
- Rainforest Action Network thanks everyone who helped
to make this victory possible!
-
- From New York City to Miami, Florida; from Seattle, Washington
to Washington, DC; from Mindo, Ecuador to Johannesburg, South Africa; it
was only through the combined efforts of thousands of dedicated people
that this policy was created. Deep thanks for your commitment to the forests,
indigenous rights, and the global environment!
-
- After four years of grassroots organizing and action
on the part of Rainforest Action Network and our friends and allies around
the world, Citigroup - the world's largest bank and once the world's most
destructive - has adopted a set of landmark environmental policies that
will transform the way the company, and the entire banking industry, does
business.
-
- Citigroup has committed to deny funding for logging operations
in tropical rainforests and to place severe restrictions on investment
in extractive industries (oil, gas, logging, mining) operating in all endangered
ecosystems worldwide. Citigroup will also adopt stringent prohibitions
guarding against investment in illegal logging, and will take steps to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its clients and to increase investment
in renewable energy projects.
-
- RAN's Global Finance Campaign has been an important part
of a growing worldwide movement to shift the global financial system away
from investment in environmental destruction and toward an economy based
on sustainability and ecological restoration. With its new environmental
commitment, Citigroup has distanced itself from competitors such as Bank
of America and JP Morgan Chase that still lack any policies to ensure protection
for the world's endangered ecosystems and the rights of their inhabitants
and to confront the pressing issue of climate change.
-
- Good news often seems like an endangered species these
days, so it is important that we all take time to celebrate our victory.
Among the concessions that Citi has made lies an important lesson. Even
the largest and most powerful corporations are not immune to the will of
democratic, citizen-led movements for change.
-
- At the same time, let's remember that we've just taken
one big first step in a long-term process of transformation. To truly create
a global economy that works for people and respects the Earth's natural
systems, we must hold the rest of the financial sector to these new standards
set by Citigroup, and eventually, expand and deepen these commitments to
reflect an economy based on ecology and human rights.
-
- To this end, RAN's Global Finance Campaign is entering
a new phase, challenging <http://action.ran.org/ctt.asp?u=2077536&l=15364>"the
Liquidators" - top U.S. banks lacking environmental standards - to
"meet or beat" the terms of Citi's policy. Stay tuned in the
coming months, as we see which of these companies see the writing on the
wall, and which need to hear a stronger message before they do what's necessary
to protect the world's last endangered ecosystems.
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