New York, NY – On 21 March 2023, Seniors in New York City and a coalition of environmental groups led by Third Act NYC and many other organizations, held a rally and march on as part of a National Day of Action to pressure the major banks to stop financing the expansion of the fossil fuel industry.
The rally featured a climate clock, Climate and anti-consumerism activist and performance artist Rev. Billy Talen and the Church of Stop Shopping Choir and a pair of giant scissors cutting up credit cards.
The rally will also feature music and street theatre from the XR-NYC band, and members of Batalà New York. Speakers will also include Steve Fox, Strategic Organizer for Climate and Environmental Justice, Office of the NYC Comptroller; Becca Richie, Global Community Manager, the Climate Clock.
The rally is one of over 100 events taking place across the country, organized by Third Act, a group of climate and democracy activists 60 years and older, with more than 50 partner organizations, locally including 350NYC, Extinction Rebellion NYC, GreenFaith, Rise and Resist, and Stop the Money Pipeline.
The rally will began at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, followed by a march to Chase Headquarters. The national day of action took place a day after the latest climate report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published today showing the world is failing to limit global warming and by continuing to burn fossil fuels.
Banks are a major problem: the top four fossil fuel financing banks are JP Morgan Chase, Citi, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, which have pumped over one quarter of the $4.6 trillion total financing for fossil fuels by the top 60 global banks between 2016 and 2021.
Third Act has gathered 17,000 pledges from bank customers to close their accounts and cut up their credit cards if the banks continue to fund fossil fuels.
Recent upheavals in the banking sector and the increasing concentration of deposits in the large Wall Street banks, protesters will demand that banks use their power and funds responsibly.
New Yorkers are still feeling the effects of Superstorm Sandy and other extreme-weather events.
© Erik McGregor – erikrivas@hotmail.com – 917-225-8963