Banks| Dodgy Deals| Campaigns
About us| Blog| Publications| Successes| Contact us| Donate
About BankTrack
Visit us
Organisation
Our team
Our board
Guiding principles
Team up with us
Join our Active Allies list
Our annual reports
Funding and finances
History
BankTrack in the media
Our privacy policy
Donate
2021-02-24 00:00:00
Protect the climate but finance Total?
2021-02-16 00:00:00
Oil and gas financiers are staring down the barrel at $1 trillion in losses: time to rein in support for new pipelines
2021-02-11 00:00:00
Beefing up risk: the exposure of JBS’ financiers to financial, regulatory and reputational risks
2021-01-25 00:00:00
Why should banks support EU mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence?
2020-09-24 12:53:20
Oscislowo open-pit coal mine cancelled
2020-09-08 13:07:41
Strengthened OECD guidance on responsible banking
2020-02-25 10:35:27
JPMorgan Chase Coal and Arctic Policy a step forward but fails to match its climate responsibility as the world’s #1 Fossil Bank
2020-02-18 17:27:23
Civil society groups welcome Royal Bank of Scotland preparing to exit fossil fuels
Connect
2021-02-01 00:00:00
Banking on Thin Ice
2020-11-30 00:00:00
Soft Commitments, Hard Lessons: an analysis of the Soft Commodities Compact
2020-11-24 00:00:00
"Trust Us, We're Equator Banks": Part II
2020-11-18 00:00:00
Crude Risk: Risks to banks and investors from the East African Crude Oil Pipeline
2020-09-16 00:00:00
Principles for Paris-Aligned Financial Institutions: Climate Impact, Fossil Fuels and Deforestation
2020-08-17 00:00:00
"Trust Us, We're Equator Banks": Part I
See all publications
Browse
Home
Banks
Dodgy Deals
Map
Campaigns
About
About BankTrack
Donate
Contact BankTrack
Publications
Victories
Follow Us
News
BankTrack blog
Facebook page
Twitter channel
Home › News
Activists Drape 50-Foot Banner Across From Bank of America Headquarters
Call on Bank to Stop Funding Dirty Coal
Start
Banks
Dodgy Deals

By: Rainforest Action Network
2007-10-23
Charlotte, North Carolina

Contact:

Rainforest Action Network

Sam Haswell
Communications Director
+1 (415) 659-0519

Cameron Scott
Communications Manager
+1 (415) 659-0541


Share this page:

Environment Activists with Rainforest Action Network's (RAN) Global Finance Campaign draped a 50-foot banner reading "Bank of America: Funding Coal, Killing Communities" across the street from Bank of America's downtown Charlotte, N.C., headquarters this morning. The group is urging the financial giant to stop funding mountaintop removal coal mining and the construction of new coal-fired power plants.

A highly destructive method of coal extraction, mountaintop removal involves exploding the tops off of mountains to reach the coal within and dumping the rubble in adjoining valleys - choking streams and increasing flood risks for local communities. Bank of America has invested billions of dollars in companies that practice mountaintop removal in the Appalachian region, including Massey Energy, Arch Coal and Alpha Natural Resources. These companies are responsible for the loss of millions of acres of forests and mountains and the decimation of communities throughout Appalachia.

"Mountaintop removal and dirty coal plants have no place in our modern economy," said Rebecca Tarbotton, director of RAN's Global Finance Campaign. "Mountaintop removal flattens mountain ranges and transforms healthy mountain woodlands into toxic sludge and rubble that clogs mountain streams. Communities throughout Appalachia are being devastated by this shameful practice. If Bank of America and other financial institutions would shift their investments from coal to renewable energies such as wind and solar power, we could meet all our energy demands by mid-century without using any coal at all."

"Here in West Virginia, coal companies are using 3 1/2 millions pounds of explosives a day to bomb our homes and mountains," said Julia 'Judy' Bonds, founder of Coal River Mountain Watch. "They are poisoning our water and our air. I want Bank of America to realize that when it funds coal companies, it is ruining lives and killing our communities."

More than 150 new coal-fired power plants are currently being planned throughout the U.S. at a projected cost of $125 billion. These plants will emit millions of tons of carbon dioxide and other dangerous toxins, such as mercury, into the atmosphere annually. RAN is urging banks to follow the recommendations of NASA's chief climate scientist, Dr. James Hansen, who has called for a moratorium on all new coal-fired power plants. A United Nations scientific panel tasked with studying the issue also warned against further development and construction of conventional coal-fired power plants.

Related banks

Bank of America United States

active

Related Dodgy Deals

Projects

There are no projects active for this item now.
on record

Mountain top removal coal mining United States

Coal Mining
Browse
Home
Banks
Dodgy Deals
Map
Campaigns
About
About BankTrack
Donate
Contact BankTrack
Publications
Victories
Follow Us
News
BankTrack blog
Facebook page
Twitter channel
Vismarkt 15
6511 VJ Nijmegen
The Netherlands

Tel: +31 24 324 9220
Contact@banktrack.org
©2016 BankTrack                Webdesign by BankTrack and EASYmind
BankTrack is a registered charity in the Netherlands (ANBI) - RSIN 813874658
Find our privacy policy here

Stay up to date

Sign up now for all BankTrack's news


Make a comment

Your comment will be reviewed, before being posted