FOE: Take Action

Dear Jamie Dimon, Marianne Lake, Jennifer Roberts, Matthew Arnold, Ashley Bacon, Evan Greenberg, Alexandra Waldman, Patrick McGovern, Jeffrey Zack, and Sean Ringsted:

I am writing to urge you to end all financial services, including loans, underwriting and the provision of insurance, for any company that is engaged in expanding its fossil fuel operations.

Last year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released the most comprehensive study yet of what is required for the global economy to meet the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global warming below 1.5°C. In its ‘Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector’, the IEA stated that, if we are serious about the Paris Agreement goals, there can be no development of new oil and gas fields and no new coal-fired power stations or coal mines. It also made it clear that global investment in clean energy must more than double from $2 trillion a year to $5 trillion by 2030, that 100% decarbonization of global electricity generation must be achieved by 2040 and that no new fossil fuel-powered cars should be sold after 2035.

While it contained several concerning flaws, such as assumptions that rely on a massive expansion of Carbon Capture Storage (CCS), a technology that is unproven at scale, is being deployed very slowly, and often results in a net-increase in emissions, the IEA report is an important guide for financial institutions as they navigate their role in the global energy transition.

One of the IEA’s most important findings is that "there is no need for investment in new fossil fuel supply" if we want to curtail global warming to 1.5°C.  In other words, in order to slow the rate of species extinction and ecosystem collapse, prevent millions of early deaths, and protect the financial system from the physical risks associated with climate change, banks and insurance companies should not spend a single dollar more on expanding fossil fuel exploration and production.

This means that US banks and US insurance companies must end all financial services for any company that is investing in expanding its fossil fuel operations. As Fatih Birol, the executive director of the IEA, said upon the release of the Global Roadmap, “There will not be a need for new investments in oil and gas fields, or new investments in coal mines.”

As the world’s largest financial backers of the fossil fuel industry, it is especially important that US financial institutions heed the IEA’s call to end new investments in the expansion of the fossil fuel industry.

Yours sincerely,

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Tell Chase and Chubb executives to STOP funding fossil fuel projects!