Despite the urgent imperative to keep at least two thirds of all fossil fuels in the ground in order to avoid catastrophic climate change, governments and companies continue to recklessly expand fossil fuel exploration and drilling across the globe.
And though fossil fuel companies do the actual drilling, they couldn’t keep expanding the fossil fuel frontier deep into the Amazon were it not for the institutions financing that expansion. As documented in this November 2017 report from Amazon Watch, even while professing corporate responsibility talking points, financial institutions like JPMorgan Chase – the biggest U.S. bank – and BlackRock – the world’s largest asset manager – are funding the destruction of the Amazon rainforest and the violation of indigenous rights.
Oil drilling in the Amazon devastates indigenous communities and one of the ecosystems most vital to avoiding climate chaos. Indigenous communities know this and are actively resisting projects by companies financed by JPMorgan and BlackRock, including GeoPark, which recently bought a concession to explore for oil on Achuar territory in the Peruvian Amazon; Andes Petroleum, which has plans to drill for oil on Sápara territory in the Ecuadorian Amazon; and Frontera, which insists on maintaining a drilling contract in Peru despite massive indigenous protests.
For more information, see the report’s press release here: JPMorgan and BlackRock Invest in Amazon Destruction
Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Brian Schatz also sent letters to BlackRock and JPMorgan Chase regarding their investments in oil companies operating in the Amazon,
which you can read here.
