[ [link removed] ]350.org

 

 



John -

We launched a BIG campaign in 2021 targeting the referee of the U.S.
economy: the Federal Reserve.

As we begin the new year, I want to catch you up on everything we
accomplished last year as part of our Fossil Free Fed campaign. This email
is longer than usual, but I hope you will take a few minutes to read it
and get up to speed and ready for what’s ahead.

First, here’s how it all started:

For the last decade, 350’s been calling on public and private investors
and institutions to cut ties and divest from fossil fuels – and we’ve been
incredibly successful.^1 That’s why we decided to turn our energy to the
biggest fish in the financial sea: the Federal Reserve System (the Fed).

The Fed’s job is to protect our economy and financial system from risk –
including climate risk. But for years, they’ve done the exact opposite by
bailing out fossil fuel companies and allowing the largest U.S. banks to
pour nearly $1 trillion into risky fossil fuels, even after the U.S.
signed onto the Paris Agreement.^2 It’s time for change.

Our campaign strategy has been three-fold:

 1. Pressure President Biden to nominate a climate leader to replace the
Trump-appointed Fed Chair, Jerome Powell.
 2. Urge Congress to pass a bill that would require the Federal Reserve to
hold big banks accountable for financing fossil fuels.
 3. Directly target the Federal Reserve by calling on them to take climate
risk seriously and cut off financing for fossil fuels.

There's no doubt that this is one of the single most ambitious campaigns
we've ever taken on here at 350.org. It's a campaign we knew we wouldn't
win overnight. So I want to chart out for you — month by month — how we
implemented our strategy in 2021 and what’s ahead:

May 2021

Beginning in May, we started [ [link removed] ]collecting signatures calling on President
Biden to nominate a climate leader as the next Fed Chair to replace Jerome
Powell. We knew that Biden would make his decision on who to nominate in
late 2021, so we got to work.

We received some good news early on when Biden signed the first ever
Executive Order for the financial sector to address the climate crisis on
May 20.^3

July 2021

In early July, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced that it would
incorporate climate into its policy-making decisions across Europe. As one
of the most influential central banks in the world, this was a crucial
win. We mobilized this momentum to put more pressure on Biden and the Fed
to follow suit.

Later that month, we launched [ [link removed] ]an explainer video that runs through the
role of the Fed and the theory of change behind our campaign. Financial
policy is often made intentionally confusing to avoid public
accountability. That’s why a big part of our focus has been popular
education on the role of the Fed in the climate crisis.

August 2021

We had planned a large action in Jackson Hole, Wyoming during the Economic
Policy Symposium, but when the conference switched to online at the last
minute, we quickly pivoted to online actions, partnered with Protect Our
Winters on a [ [link removed] ]massive banner drop in the Teton mountains, and [ [link removed] ]took
action outside the Federal Reserve branch in Denver.

[ [link removed] ]Stop the Money Pipeline banner on the Teton Mountains

September 2021

Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley,
and other progressive members of Congress joined the movement calling on
President Biden to replace current Federal Reserve Chair, Jerome Powell,
with someone who will take serious action on the climate crisis.^4

Later that month, Reps. Mondaire Jones, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley
introduced the Fossil Free Finance Act which would require the Federal
Reserve to hold big banks accountable for financing fossil fuels. We
mobilized our supporters to send letters to their representatives urging
them to cosponsor the bill.

Then, our movement delivered over 40,000 petition signatures encouraging
President Biden to nominate a new Federal Reserve Chair who will
prioritize the climate.

October 2021

On October 29 (right before COP 26), our movement took action outside
thirteen Federal Reserve branches across the country calling for change at
the Fed and demanding that President Biden nominate a climate champion as
Federal Reserve Chair.

These actions, led by 350 local groups, took place at Federal Reserve
branches in San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Seattle, Dallas, and beyond.
You can watch a video highlighting the actions [ [link removed] ]here.

[ [link removed] ]Screen shot of video

November 2021

In November, Senators Ed Markey and Jeff Merkley introduced the Senate
version of the Fossil Free Finance Act which would effectively cut off the
flow of funds from big banks to fossil fuel companies. We mobilized our
supporters to send letters to their senators urging them to cosponsor the
bill.

On November 22, we officially got word that President Biden renominated
Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve. Biden's decision to ignore
the leading voices in economics, members of Congress, and — most
importantly — tens of thousands of supporters who called on his
administration to nominate a true climate leader is a blatant disregard
for our mandate to shift the economy and keep warming below 1.5 degrees.

Biden did heed climate advocates' call for climate champions at the Fed
and nominated Lael Braniard as Vice-Chair of the Federal Reserve. Lael
Brainard has sounded the alarm on how financial institutions must take
action on the climate crisis.

We mobilized immediately, [ [link removed] ]sending letters to our senators urging them
to vote NO on Powell’s confirmation. So far, three Democratic senators
have committed to voting against Powell: Elizabeth Warren of
Massachusetts, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, and Jeff Merkley of
Oregon.

December 2021

In December, we called on Biden to nominate climate leaders for the three
remaining seats on the Federal Reserve Board.

Having strong leadership in these key positions could help steer the Fed
toward regulating the Big Banks and cutting off the flow of funds to
fossil fuels – regardless of whether Jerome Powell gets confirmed by the
Senate in January.

[ [link removed] ]Can you add your name today calling on President Biden
to nominate climate leaders for the three remaining seats? We need more
signatures on the petition before Biden makes his announcement soon.

[ [link removed] ]Sign the petition »



2021 was just the beginning,
John. We’ve already seen the
pillars of power begin to crack and there is so much ahead for our work to
push Biden, Congress, and the Fed to cut off the flow of funds to fossil
fuels. Together, I know we can transform the future and fossil fuel
finance as we know it.

The Senate confirmation hearing on Powell’s nomination is supposed to take
place later this month. Together, we will leverage the full weight of our
movement to call on the Senate to do what is right for our communities and
our planet and reject Powell’s nomination – and to confirm the nomination
of Lael Brainard for Vice-Chair.

Thank you for making the first year of this campaign a success. None of it
would be possible without you,
John.

Brooke Harper
Regional Campaigns Strategist
350.org

P.S. To stay up to date on the campaign and learn more, check out our
campaign website at [ [link removed] ]fossilfreefederalreserve.com.



 

1 - [ [link removed] ]350.org
2 - [ [link removed] ]Bailout Watch and [ [link removed] ]Banking on Climate Chaos
3 - [ [link removed] ]CNBC
4 - [ [link removed] ]POLITICO


 




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