Not Banking On It

Changing the Status Quo

Third Act Maine’s Rally: Banks—Stop the Money Pipeline
Tuesday, March 21, 3-4 pm, Monument Square, Portland

We need you! Come to the rally!
Help us protest the big banks’ continued funding of new fossil fuel projects. RSVP here.

“Bank On It” is uttered about things we can put our faith in: the sun rising; the rain clearing; the apple pie at the corner bakery; the safety of our dollars at the bank downtown. But what about when those trusted banking institutions are funding fossil fuel exploration—with our funds no less? Maybe we shouldn’t bank on them.

The time is NOW to upset the banking status quo. According to a report entitled Banking on Climate Chaos:

Fossil fuel financing from the world’s 60 largest banks has reached USD $4.6 trillion in the six years since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, with $742 billion in fossil fuel financing in 2021 alone…Overall fossil fuel financing remains dominated by four U.S. banks—JPMorgan Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America—who together account for one quarter of all fossil fuel financing identified over the last six years. 

We know better than to keep exploring for fossil fuels. We have the power to protest, and if these institutions don’t change their ways, we can change our banks and credit cards.

We’ve put together some resources to explain how the money flow in your life relates to fossil fuel financing. You can find Third Act Maine’s research on Maine banks and the fossil fuel industry here. (If you are interested in attending future virtual banking information sessions please fill out this form.)

You can also take action now by attending Move Your Money sessions that provide mentorship in selecting a new bank and/or credit card. As one of our members said:

I’ve joined two sessions facilitated by knowledgeable and supportive members of THIS! Is What We Did, and found the process of making weekly commitments to action steps with follow-up discussion helpful. 

We’re hoping you can join us on Tuesday, March 21, 2023 at 3 pm in Monument Square in Portland for a rally called Banks—Stop the Money Pipeline. We’ll have speakers and song, a skit, and a delegation meeting with Chase and Bank of America to address their roles in furthering the planet’s fossil fuel future. We’re gathering a broad coalition of climate groups at the doorsteps of these financial institutions with the message that we can’t bank on fossil fuels any longer. 

Encouraged and backed by the national Third Act organization (started by Bill McKibben), we Maine Third Actors (all over 60—never let it be said more decades means slowing down!) will be in Portland and hope you’ll come, too. (Please RSVP here). If you can’t attend the 3.21.23 Rally, check out this virtual option on 3.12.23.

We’ve got lots of great things to bank on in Maine: tides; blueberries and lobsters; and hundreds of inspired and dedicated climate activists, young and old. We can’t do this alone—working together we are louder, stronger, and happier. Together we can—and will—change the course of our future. You can bank on that. 

“We’re all going to have to change—that’s the point. Farmers around the world are leaving their land because the sea is rising; droughts are already creating refugees by the millions. On the spectrum of shifts that the climate crisis will require, bankers and investors and insurers have it easy. A manageably small part of their business needs to disappear, to be replaced by what comes next. No one should actually be a master of the universe. But, for the moment, the financial giants are the masters of our planet. Perhaps we can make them put that power to use. Fast.” 

—Bill McKibben, New Yorker, 9/17/2019,  “Money Is the Oxygen with Which the Fire of Global Warming Burns”