US (STOP THE MONEY PIPELINE) : Ending fossil fuels. Join us Thursday.

 

I’m writing to invite you to Stop the Money Pipeline’s community celebration and fundraising gala this Thursday, May 21st. If you already know what we’re all about and want to join us, RSVP here. If you’re newer to Stop the Money Pipeline, here’s why I think you should join us. To have any hope of limiting catastrophic climate change, we must end the fossil fuel industry. That’s our goal: ending fossil fuels. But having a goal and having a strategy is not the same thing. Here’s our strategy: turn the financial sector decisively against the fossil fuel industry. Movements of the past teach us that social movements are most likely to win when they turn members of the corporate elite against one another. One example: in 1963, movement strategists with the SCLC traveled to Birmingham with the goal of turning white business owners against the system of segregation – and when they achieved that, through a campaign of sustained economic disruption that hurt the white-owned business community, formal segregation in the city soon ended. Turning members of the corporate elite against the fossil industry will be equally important. The work of turning society's power structures against the fossil fuel industry must include campaigning on local and state governments, regulators, judges, utilities, and tech companies. Most critical of all however, is the financial industry. Private financial institutions control the majority of the world’s investment decisions, and those investments determine the future of society. What gets funded is what gets built. If we can turn banks, insurance companies, and investors against the fossil fuel industry, it will rob the industry of the resources required to grow, drive investment into clean energy, and create the political conditions in which transformational climate action becomes possible. But let’s be clear: turning the financial elite against Big Oil is a HUGE challenge. It’s a challenge that requires long-term investment, strategy, and courage. It requires running multi-year campaigns to move major clients of banks to our side, such as our campaign to push Costco to dump Citibank, a move that would see Citi lose more than 13 million credit card customers. It requires running targeted legislative campaigns, such as our Insure our Communities campaign which would force insurance companies operating in New York to stop underwriting new fossil fuel projects. And sometimes it requires sustained disruption, such as during the Summer of Heat campaign when 700 people were arrested at Citibank’s HQ over less than four months. All of that, and more: that’s what we do at Stop the Money Pipeline. And we’d be honored if you’d join this Thursday, May 21st for Brighter Futures: an online celebration and fundraising gala for Stop the Money Pipeline. During the event, you’ll learn more about our strategy, hear from key movement leaders, and have a chance to support the fight for the long-haul. Together, we can end the era of fossil fuels. See you Thursday. In Solidarity, - Alec Connon, Stop the Money Pipeline coalition director. PS: Can’t make it but want to support the work anyway? Make a one-time donation here. Sign up to become a monthly donor here.