68 “Summer of Heat” activists arrested in New York for protesting Citgroup’s financing of fossil fuels

“The money they make us is blood money,” Ozane added. “Since they are destroying our homes, we come to visit them. We will end this cycle of violence and exploitation now, because later is too late. We want Citigroup to stop financing fossil fuels and stop harming our communities and our families.”

As Alec Connon, coordinator of Stop the Money Pipeline, explained in an opinion piece published earlier this month by Common dreams:

Since the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015, Citi has provided $204.46 billion in financing to the fastest-developing new coal, oil and gas fields. more There is more money flowing into these oil and gas companies than JPMorgan Chase, the bank that environmental activists like to call the “Bank of Doom.”

To be clear, I'm only talking here about the financing that Citi has provided to growing companies new Oil and gas reserves should not be limited to infrastructure investments to continue to exploit existing reserves. When taking into account funding for all fossil fuel companies, Citi has provided just under $400 billion to coal, oil and gas companies since 2015.

Citigroup says it “supports the transition to a low-carbon economy through our net-zero commitments and our $1 trillion sustainable finance goal,” and that its “approach reflects the need for the transition while continuing to meet the world's energy needs.”

However, Climate Defenders director Marlena Fontes countered that “Citi's business model is frying our planet.”

“Every credible climate scientist says we can’t afford to invest another dime in fossil fuels, but Citi is the largest financier of fossil fuel development in the world,” Fontes added. “Until Citi stops financing fossil fuels, they can expect resistance from ordinary people like us, who want our kids to be able to play outside without coughing from wildfire smoke or getting sick from deadly heat waves.”