Dear John,
2024 was the hottest year on record, and 2025 is off to a catastrophic start with the worst wildfires in California’s history, devastating entire communities. The climate crisis is here, and big banks are making it worse with reckless fossil fuel investments.
The six largest U.S. banks — Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley — have all withdrawn from the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA). This global initiative, launched in 2021, was designed to align financial institutions with the Paris Climate Agreement and achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Their decision undermines global climate goals and perpetuates the crisis.
As the incoming Trump administration continues to deny the climate emergency, it’s clear we cannot rely on federal leadership to address this existential threat. Regulatory action alone won’t suffice — we must hold the financial sector accountable and demand that banks stop financing new fossil fuel projects.
Now is the time to send a direct message to these banks’ CEOs: Stop bowing to climate-denying politicians and divest from fossil fuels immediately!
Recently, over 65 Hollywood celebrities and Indigenous climate activists petitioned City National Bank (CNB) and its parent company, the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). Calling for “No More Dirty Banks,” they demanded the banks defund the Coastal GasLink pipeline in British Columbia, a project that not only worsens the climate crisis but also violates the treaty rights of the Wet’suwet’en Tribe.
Here’s why it matters: Every dollar invested in fossil fuels intensifies the climate emergency, driving us toward unprecedented loss of life, property, and ecosystems. The profit-driven choices of these banks are pushing the planet toward unimaginable catastrophe.
Citigroup alone has funneled $333 billion into fossil fuels since 2016, helping to fuel a cascade of disasters like floods, hurricanes, and wildfires.
And Canada’s top five banks have provided an estimated $1.95 billion to the Coastal GasLink project. Greenpeace Canada has already taken action, protesting RBC’s financing of this destructive pipeline.
Take action now! Tell the Big Banks: Divest from fossil fuels! It’s time to demand a rapid and just energy transition away from coal, oil, and gas to safeguard life on Earth.
Thank you for standing up for our planet.
Robert Reich
Inequality Media Civic Action