"I wonder if the executives of banks in Europe know the real cost of their financing. How can they possibly sleep peacefully knowing their money leaves thousands of Indigenous peoples without water, without food, and in devastating health conditions?"

The rupture of two major oil pipelines in Ecuador's northern Amazon was an environmental disaster, polluting the sole source of freshwater for many communities. Now several months later, the 120,000 people who depend on the river are still living through a pandemic without adequate water or food.

We've been here before. The cycle repeats itself: oil companies are negligent, oil is spilled or dumped in the rainforest, and Indigenous peoples bear the consequences. Despite persistent Indigenous resistance and global solidarity, justice is rarely ever served.

Our latest report with Stand.earth outlines a shocking new discovery: a few European banks have poured billions into Amazon oil extraction and play a key role in its destruction and environmental pollution.

This information gives us a new way to apply pressure to break this cycle. Since the release of our report, four of the six banks we identified have committed to work with us to address their trade financing of Amazon crude oil.

We can no longer tolerate the destruction of the Amazon for profit at the expense of the Indigenous peoples who live there. We must increase the pressure and make sure that any new policies are measurable, enforceable, and taken swiftly – because the next disaster is not a matter of if, but when.