NEW YORK, NY – On April 7, 2023 Mets fans and climate activists targeted the Mets’ opening day to send a strong message about climate change and the team’s sponsor’s role in it. After the third inning, activists dropped one large banner that read “Mets Drop Citi”.
Around half a dozen advocates also gathered outside the Mets stadium to talk to fans and take pictures with a Mr. Mets and a Mets jersey that read Mets Drop Citi. The photos were posted with the hashtag #MetsDropCiti.
Climate advocates have been pressuring Citi to stop financing new or expanding fossil fuel projects, but so far the bank has refused to publish a credible plan explaining how it will transition away from fossil fuels.
Citi is the second largest fossil fuel financier in the US. Between 2016 and 2021 it invested $285 billion in fossil fuels. It is among the biggest financial backers of the world’s worst polluters including ExxonMobil, BP, and Saudi Aramco. Citi is also the biggest coal funder outside of China, and the biggest investor in fossil fuel projects in the Amazon. Citi also has Russia’s biggest US bank presence, including Russian oil and gas.
New Yorkers know firsthand the impacts of climate change, from Superstorm Sandy to Hurricane Ian. New Yorkers, many of them Mets fans, face the brunt of climate chaos that banks like Citi are financing. Forty-three New Yorkers died during superstorm Sandy alone, and many remain vulnerable to climate change.
Mets fans and climate activists also launched an online petition urging Cohen to drop Citi and said they would continue to pressure the Mets to end its partnership with Citi.
© Erik McGregor – erikrivas@hotmail.com – 917-225-8963