People power continues to build on Chase Bank and the KXL pipeline

JPMorgan Chase has got to be feeling the heat, because you answered the call to action! Over 2,000 of you called JPMorgan Chase to tell them to #defundtarsands and to cut ties with TransCanada, the company behind the Keystone XL pipeline.

And yet, late on Friday, JPMorgan Chase and 18 other banks renewed their support for TransCanada by extending two credit facilities totalling $1.5 billion. As the lead bank on both of these loans, JPMorgan Chase continues to provide TransCanada with the money it needs for its business, including its headline project, Keystone XL. This is unacceptable — but we knew this fight wouldn’t be easy.

JPMorgan Chase is a leading funder of TransCanada — and the #1 Wall Street bankroller of tar sands oil, one of the dirtiest fossil fuels on the planet. They are the biggest bank on Wall Street, and their investments in tar sands and extreme fossil fuels run deep. It’s going to take sustained people power and continued actions from this incredible network to move this corporate giant away from fossil fuels and towards honoring Indigenous rights and climate stability. Persistence is how we win.

Since the Nebraska decision that re-routed TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline, almost 45,000 people have signed the petition to JPMorgan Chase, demanding the bank stop funding TransCanada.


On top of all that, on December 7 a small group of water protectors made their way to The Plaza Hotel in New York City to the Wells Fargo Thought Leadership Forum, an exclusive gathering of over 1,000 of the world’s largest investors. The water protectors attempted to deliver the petition with your signatures to Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase’s CEO. These peaceful activists were forcibly ejected — but our collective message was heard loud and clear: NO KXL. Defund tar sands.

When more than 2,000 of you called JPMorgan Chase’s head business office and customer service line, here are some of the things you said:

• “I had been a Chase customer since 1964, but closed my accounts because of their addiction to funding the non-sustainable fossil fuel industry.”
• “I no longer use my Chase credit card and have advised my financial advisor to take out my investments with JPMorgan. I was trying to say this when I was cut off!”
• “I encouraged funding for green energy as opposed to tar sands.”

We’re going to have to keep speaking up, because this fight to stop the KXL pipeline is far from over. TransCanada is expected to make their final investment decision this month, formally deciding whether or not to move forward on the project — read more about what that means here. RAN intends to intervene at every key financial decision point to demand that JPMorgan Chase cut ties with TransCanada and end funding for tar sands.

-Ruth Breech, Rainforest Action Network

Call JP Morgan Chase today and tell them NO to KXL. 212-270-1111

Last week, Rainforest Action Network hand delivered the petition you signed with over 40,000 signatures to JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, to say No to the Keystone XL pipeline.

JPMorgan Chase is the top US bankroller of extreme fossil fuels, tar sands, and tar sands pipelines. Today, it has the opportunity to do the right thing and stop funding climate chaos — but it will only do so if we call in and demand it.

Please call this number to speak with a JPMorgan Chase representative:

212-270-1111

Here’s a simple script you can use for calling JPMorgan Chase

“Hello, I’m (name) from (city, state, or country) and I’m calling to urge JPMorgan Chase stop profiting from climate change and to act responsibly. Right now, JPMorgan Chase is the top US funder of extreme fossil fuels, tar sands, and tar sands pipelines, including Keystone XL. JPMorgan Chase has a choice whether or not to renew the credit facility for TransCanada, the company behind the Keystone XL pipeline. I urge JPMorgan Chase to get on the right side of history by ending financing for TransCanada, the Keystone XL pipeline and defund tar sands projects.”

Thank you for for taking a few minutes out of your day to make a quick call. Your call joined by hundreds of others makes a huge impact! 

Note from Desktop Activist Tucson: I got a real person! 

Tell JPMorgan Chase: DO NOT provide financial services for tar sands pipelines

Tar sands oil is one of the dirtiest energy sources on the planet, producing up to 20% more carbon emissions than conventional oil. And four proposed pipelines, including Keystone XL, would carry that dirty fuel from Canada’s tar sands across thousands of miles of continent to refineries and ports in Canada and the U.S. They ignore the rights of sovereign Indigenous nations and private landowners and pose dire risks for communities along their paths. But imagine if we could stop these pipelines by cutting off their funding at the source. A pipe dream, you say? It’s already happening.

Just 26 global investment banks and lending institutions are responsible for the majority of funding for these proposed pipelines. U.S. banking giant, JPMorgan Chase, has contributed millions of dollars through various loans, credit facilities, and financial transactions.

And yet, JPMorgan Chase has publicly acknowledged that it must review its investments in the fossil fuel sector and that tar sands projects require an extra level of review and scrutiny. Despite these comments, it have fallen short on significantly changing its lending practices to be in-line with its climate and human rights commitments. It is time for JPMorgan Chase to put its money (or rather, not put its money) where its mouth is. Tell JPMorgan Chase to step up its commitment and to cut ties to the tar sands oil pipelines that only Trump and his fossil fuel backers want.

With your help, it can be done! The Dutch bank giant ING recently announced that it will not finance oil pipeline projects from the Canadian tar sands, placing climate, environmental, water, and social impacts among the chief justifications for its overall policy. This latest action by the bank comes after a letter was sent by twenty Indigenous and environmental groups, including Greenpeace, demanding that the bank publicly commit to end its financial relationship with the destructive tar sands pipelines.

Financial institutions are waking up to the growing movement against these pipelines and the reputational risk they face if they continue to throw their money and support behind these destructive pipelines.  Some have already washed their hands of oil pipeline projects. Keep up the resistance and send a message to JPMorgan Chase asking the bank not to fund dangerous tar sands pipelines that threaten communities and the climate.

Tell JPMorgan Chase: DO NOT provide financial services for tar sands pipelines now!

- Tim Donaghy, Senior Research Specialist, Greenpeace