SEPTEMBER 2023

Dear Friend,

September was a big month for our climate campaign.

The United Nations held its’ ‘Climate Ambition Summit’ at its New York headquarters. And while the summit was happening, tens of thousands of people took to the streets, both in New York City and around the globe, to participate in the March to End Fossil Fuels. That included Corporate Accountability organizers, as well as a contingent of Corporate Accountability members who showed up and marched alongside allied groups like Demand Climate Justice. We also co-hosted the theatrical premiere of the documentary ‘Powerlands’ by Navajo Filmmaker Ivey-Camille Manybeads Tso, which traces the effects of corporate abuse on Indigenous communities and lands across three continents.

In addition to the action in the streets, our joint research with the Guardian was published on the eve of the U.N.'s Climate Ambition Summit. The research covers the way carbon markets are being used by Big Polluters, like the fossil fuel industry, to undermine efforts to address the climate crisis in a meaningful and equitable way. Hundreds of people like you shared the article with U.N. decision-makers on social media to ensure that the people setting climate policy have even more evidence of how corporations are attempting to stymie progress. The summit may be over, but you can still share this article on social media and make sure it continues to be part of the conversation around how we justly address the climate crisis.

And finally, this month the state of California announced that it is suing Big Polluters! The lawsuit claims that five of the largest oil and gas corporations, and a trade group representing the industry, deceived the public about the risks of extracting and burning fossil fuels. And it argues that these Big Polluters, not Californians, should have to pay for billions of dollars in damages from devastating wildfires, unprecedented storms, and other climate impacts. With this announcement, California joins a long list of cities and states around the country -- including cities and counties in California itself -- that have opened investigations and initiated lawsuits against Big Polluters. This announcement comes after years of Corporate Accountability organizers and members, in partnership with numerous climate justice allies, urging California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta (and AG Xavier Becerra before him) to hold Big Polluters liable for their role in fueling the climate crisis. Share this exciting news with your friends and family.

In addition to advancing the call to kick Big Polluters out of climate policy, and make them pay for the devastation they have caused and continue to cause, here are a few more things that you’ve been doing in the past month to challenge corporate power:

Making Big Tobacco pay for the impacts of its deadly product

Every year, more than 8 million people die from tobacco-related diseases. Despite this, we are filling the coffers of one of the world’s most deadly industries with our taxes, our health, our lives, and our planet. But together we have the power to hold this deadly industry accountable and push governments to make Big Tobacco pay. That’s why for the past year or so, we’ve been organizing with a coalition of allies to make Big Tobacco pay for the costs -- health, financial, environmental, and more -- of its deadly products. If you haven't done so already, sign the petition to Make Big Tobacco Pay. And if you have expertise on liability, reparations, or legal accountability, or represent an organization, please add your name or organization to this sign-on letter.

Powering the movement to challenge corporate power every month!

For far too long, corporations have been able to get away with harming communities and the planet -- all in the name of profit. We are looking for 50 new monthly donors by our extended deadline of October 6 to help us build a world that's rooted in justice -- one where corporations answer to the people. Make a monthly gift today, and a generous donor will give an additional $150, making your ongoing support go even further. And when you become a monthly donor today, we will send you a Corporate Accountability bumper sticker so you can show the world your commitment to this movement!

Reimagining our food systems and centering health, equity, and sovereignty

In partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, our Director of Research and Policy, Ashka Naik, joined an expert from the Center for Digital Democracy for a robust discussion about moving food and beverage corporate policies in the U.S. towards equity. The conversation looked at what the U.S. could learn from other countries, especially in the Global South, about building a more people-centered food system that prioritizes public and ecological health and wellbeing above corporate profits. Ashka also wrote an in-depth essay on how cooperative socioeconomic structures could advance food security and sovereignty, by discussing women-led cooperative initiatives that are slowly but surely bringing positive change to India’s food system. Read more in the Stanford Social Innovation Review.

Corporate Accountability stops transnational corporations from devastating democracy, trampling human rights, and destroying our planet. We are building a world rooted in justice where corporations answer to people, not the other way around -- a world where every person has access to clean water, healthy food, a safe place to live, and the opportunity to reach their full human potential.

State Disclosures.

Write to us at [email protected] or call us at +1-800-688-8797 (U.S.).

Corporate Accountability
10 Milk St, Suite 610, Boston, MA 02108

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