Dear John,
Last winter, the world watched as illegal deforestation caused 2.3 million acres of forest and land across Indonesia to burn for weeks. And every year, big agribusiness slashes an area of tropical rainforest the size of Oregon.
But these businesses don’t act alone -- they’re propped up by financial firms like BlackRock, the world’s largest investment company. BlackRock has more money invested in big agribusiness than any other company in the world.
BlackRock could stop financing these businesses altogether, or it could use its influence to make them stop slashing forests. So far, it has done neither of these things -- so we need your help to demand BlackRock protect our forests.
Fight rainforest destruction: Tell BlackRock to stop financing companies that slash forests around the world!
Our rainforests are the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet. They also are home to Indigenous communities who rely on the unique environment to preserve their cultures and ways of life.
But when big agribusinesses look at our forests, all they see is potential for palm oil plantations and other industrial ag projects.
Industrial plantation agriculture does irreparable damage to forests and wildlife. But it is also a leading cause of violent land conflicts that dispossess and displace Indigenous peoples and local communities.
Some of the world’s top consumer brands committed to stop driving deforestation by 2020 -- and they have failed. BlackRock has billions invested in many of these companies, and so far it hasn't done enough to change their ways. We simply can’t stop the destruction of places like the Amazon Rainforest unless BlackRock shifts. But that will only happen if it feels pressure from people like you!
Protect our planet’s rainforest: Tell BlackRock to stop fueling deforestation!
BlackRock manages a jaw-dropping $7 trillion in assets. That’s trillions of dollars that could help solve the climate crisis rather than fund rainforest destruction and human rights violations.
So what can BlackRock specifically do to fight deforestation? It can use shareholder power to pressure the companies it owns to end deforestation. It can vote out the managers at these companies that let the problems continue. And when agribusiness companies refuse to change their ways, BlackRock can cut these companies out of its portfolios.
The next big step for BlackRock would involve bowing to public pressure. In January BlackRock announced it will begin dropping coal companies from its portfolios. In February it made a public statement about getting more aggressive with the agribusiness companies it owns about “land rights of Indigenous peoples” and about the other dangerous environmental impacts of deforestation.
This shows that BlackRock is listening to us. But talk is cheap: BlackRock needs a set of high level policies to ensure it drives back deforestation.
Around the world, people of all ages, from the elderly to youth, have been rising up to tell BlackRock to divest from destruction. Now we need you with us, John, to demand BlackRock defund deforestation. Our planet can’t wait!
Join the movement to stop rainforest destruction: Tell BlackRock to divest from deforestation!
Standing with you,
Jeff Conant,
Senior international forest program manager,
Friends of the Earth
