Hi John,
The French fossil fuel giant TOTAL wants to drill for oil and gas in the Arctic - and they’re about to get public money from the French government to do it. [1]
French President Emmanuel Macron likes to call himself a climate leader. But we think that climate leaders do not pour millions of euros of taxpayers' money into fossil fuels.
In a couple of weeks Macron will be hosting an international summit, where some of the world's biggest public banks will talk about "COVID and climate change". He'll be extra careful about his image, so now's the time to put him under pressure for his hypocrisy - and to call his bluff.
This November, France is hosting a summit called "Finance in Common". Public development banks that control $2 trillion of public money all over the globe will come together to talk about climate finance.
French President Emmanuel Macron hopes this summit will make him look good in front of the media and his peers. But at the same time, he’s considering pouring more public money into TOTAL’s project to drill in the Arctic. [2] The Arctic is one of the world's most fragile ecosystems, and one of the places on the planet where the consequences of global warming are already being felt most dramatically.
TOTAL is one of the 20 companies at the top of the global CO2 emitters list. [3] The corporation has dirty fossil projects around the world, including Africa’s biggest fossil gas project in Mozambique, a country that is already facing the impacts of the climate crisis. [4]
To confront climate breakdown, we need to turn off the money tap to these dirty fossil fuel projects. The upcoming banks' summit will put Macron in the international spotlight. It's our opportunity to hold him accountable to his promise to act on climate change.
Please, send a message to the French President Emmanuel Macron and ask him to turn off the money tap to TOTAL. Your name will be added and sent along with the email to the President and his advisors ahead of the Finance in Common summit.
John, there is a pattern with dirty fossil fuel projects. Rich countries give money to polluting companies who then exploit the land, abuse resources, and violate human rights in countries on the other end of the world. Emmanuel Macron himself, speaking at the United Nations in September 2019, described the export financing of developed countries for polluting projects in other regions of the world as "incoherent" and "irresponsible". [5]
The financial system fuels climate breakdown, which in turn destroys our communities and our chances for a safe future. We must stop big banks and investors from propping up toxic fossil fuels. That pressure starts with each of us taking action whenever we can, to make fossil fuel finance unacceptable across Europe and the world.
Thanks for everything you do,
Clémence and the 350.org team
PS: If you're ready to take the next step, please make a donation today to help us organize to end public finance for fossil fuel projects. We'll put your donation right to work as we build our global pressure campaign targeting Macron ahead of the Finance in Common Summit.
References:
[1] Macron's twofold Arctic policy to gain influence in the Arctic
[2] La France pourrait soutenir un gigantesque projet gazier dans l’Arctique russe (in French)
[3] Revealed: the 20 firms behind a third of all carbon emissions
[4] Total secures $15.8 billion in funding for Mozambique gas project: FNB
[5] Discours du Président Emmanuel Macron à la tribune de l’Assemblée générale de l’ONU (in French)
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