SAN FRANCISCO – Beginning Thursday May 6 5:00pm PDT, Stop the Money Pipeline is organizing a #DefundLine3 Global Day of Action (May 7) with protests at bank branches in Japan, Switzerland, Sierra Leone, Costa Rica, the UK, Holland, France and Canada, as well as about 50 cities in the U.S. The actions aim to pressure banks to stop funding the Line 3 tar sands pipeline. A press release with photos and some video footage of the action and quotes from campaigners will be available by 12pm PDT on Friday, for immediate release. A video package, including footage of the action in Seattle, and potentially other actions, will be available by 3pm PDT Friday.
WHO: Hundreds of Climate and Indigenous rights activists affiliated with Stop the Money Pipeline
WHAT: Defund Line 3 – Global Day of Action. Activists will take action in more than 50 US cities and 8 countries.
WHERE: Bank branches in Japan, Switzerland, Sierra Leone, Costa Rica, the UK, Holland, France and Canada, as well as about 50 cities in the U.S.
WHEN: Thursday May 6, 5:00pm PDT to Friday May 7, 5:00pm PDT
WHY: The global day of action comes just one month after many of the target banks agreed to give Enbridge ― the company building Line 3 ― a “sustainability-linked” loan. The details of what makes the loan “sustainability-linked” have not been disclosed. According to Enbridge’s Environmental Impact Statement, Line 3 would result in an additional 193 million tons of greenhouse gas being released into the atmosphere each year. According to one study, Line 3 would result in as much additional greenhouse gas being released into the atmosphere, as the building of fifty new coal-fired power plants. Key permits for the pipeline were granted to Enbridge by the Trump Administration weeks before Trump left office.
More than 250 people have now been arrested for taking action to stop the construction of Line 3. Since the #DefundLine3 campaign launched in February 2021, there have been protests at bank branches in 16 states and activists have sent more than 700,000 emails and 7,000 calendar invites to bank executives and made more than 3,000 phone calls, demanding that they stop funding Line 3.
Stop the Money Pipeline is a coalition of over 150 organizations focused on holding the financial backers of climate chaos accountable. www.stopthemoneypipeline.com
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Contact: Jackie Fielder jackie@stopthemoneypipeline.com